Little Richard's Intentions For Ryo & Rika
by DigiFreak103
Summary: RYUKI! FINAL CHAPTER IS HERE! The Wedding. Here is where the couples are established, and here is, I think, the first fic where I haven't killed a person. Happy ending, all is well, and stuff. Sequel coming soon! Chapter 17 now up and runnin'
1. Prologue

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Prologue

DF103 - :peeks out from under the blanket: umm…is it safe to come out now:laughs nervously: THIS FIC WILL BE BETTER:hides under blanket again: I had a reason for the way I wrote, "Never Too Far From Home." I'm very, very sorry that I ended that fic, the way I did…this occurs the next morning after Rika and Richard get to Rika's house, if that made sense…anyways…here's the sequel to that…so on with Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo and Rika – Prologue…

* * *

With the words of Ryo from last night, ringing in Rika's head, she sat outside, next to the pond, watching the sunrise. She couldn't sleep last night because of the bad flashbacks she had, attempting to sleep. With Richard still sleeping, she asked herself many questions that were on her mind.

"Why didn't he stop by last night, like I thought he would?" she asked.

Rika's eyes widened and said, "Why am I even thinking like that. It's not like I like him or anything."

Then, she heard a soft knock on the door. She got up and trudged over to the door. She opened the door and saw Ryo standing there.

"Ryo?" Rika asked, slightly startled by his presence.

"There you are. I went by your room and no one was there so I thought you left already," Ryo said, with his worried look on.

"Oh, no. I'm not even going to leave the country. I changed my mind," Rika said, staring at her feet. "Some things came up and I have this old house, so..."

"Rika," Ryo said, putting his hands on her shoulders, "I'm so glad you're staying."

Ryo embraced her in a hug, then remembered what happened before when he hugged her and pulled away.

"Rika, I'm so sorry," Ryo said, holding his hands up in defense, "I forgot about what you told me."

Rika gazed into his blue eyes, and smiled. She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"It's okay," Rika said, "and thank you."

Ryo still looked dumbfounded and stared at Rika.

'Where did that come from? Ryo needs to go now!' Rika thought, realizing what she just did.

"Uhh…Ryo, whatever happened, just now, never happened, okay?" Rika said, her face turning red.

"Why? You just can't admit that you like me, pumpkin?" Ryo asked, with a growing grin on his face.

"Shut up, Akiyama. Nothing happened, just now, and we have no relationship, whatsoever," Rika said, starting to get annoyed by his presence.

"Whatever you say, Wildcat," Ryo said.

"Just go. It's too early in the morning to see you," Rika said, shoving Ryo out the door.

"I'm going, no need for the rush. It's not like anyone's going to see us or anything," Ryo said, walking out the door.

"Richard is here, now go," Rika said.

"I'll see you later then, pumpkin," Ryo said, winking at Rika before he left.

"Yeah, later," Rika said.

While all this went on, Richard was watching the whole thing, from the room he was sleeping in.

'Wait till I tell the others about what just happened,' Richard thought, running back into the bed.

This is when Richard had a plan to get Ryo and Rika together. A plan called Operation Double "R".

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DF103 – ehh…the end of the chapter was a little corny…but that was just the prologue...there's more to come…hahahahah…anywayz…there's the first part of the whole fic…tell me what you think…please review… 


	2. The Primary Plan

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

The Primary Plan

DF103 – I'm back with another chapter…for you people…:laughs hysterically: …I was so into writing this fic that I forgot to put disclaimer on last time, so I'll write it in bold letters…**I dun own Digimon, but I do own Richard and TAMER PLUSHIES! hugs them **okay…now that I got that outta the way…here's Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – The Primary Plan…

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As soon as Ryo left, Rika closed the door and wiped her mouth. "What the heck was I thinking, kissing him like that," Rika said to herself, as she walked towards the backyard.

She opened the sliding door to the backyard and saw Renamon.

"I'm glad you've finally made up your mind," Renamon said, in her calm and gentle voice.

Rika gave her a weak smile and walked over to the pond.

"Renamon, remember when you told me that Ryo cares about me? Well, what if there's a slight chance that I might care for him, too?" Rika asked, looking down at her reflection.

"I don't know. Remember, I'm only a digimon," Renamon answered.

"That's true," Rika said, watching every ripple that the water made, when she stuck her feet in the water. "Ah, I'm so confused."

Renamon smiled and and said, "You have company." She disappeared, as Rika turned towards the door.

She saw Richard, yawning and rubbing his eye.

"Hey, little guy. Did you sleep well?" Rika asked, drying her feet and walking over to him.

Richard nodded.

"You're up pretty early. Are you hungry?" Rika asked.

Richard nodded again, with his eyes still half-shut.

"Okay, I'll fix something up. You go wash and face and stuff," Rika said, walking towards the kitchen.

"Mm-hmm," Richard said, yawning again, while trudging over to the bathroom.

Few minutes later…

Richard walked into the kitchen and saw a stack of pancakes on the table, along with some eggs and bacon, and two glasses of milk.

"Wow, is this what you usually have for breakfast?" Richard asked in amazement.

"No, it's just that you looked hungry and I didn't know what you wanted," Rika replied.

"Wowie. My breakfast is usually a piece of toast, scrambled eggs, and orange juice," Richard said, taking a seat at the table.

"Well, today's your lucky day," Rika said, also taking a seat.

They dug into the food, eating almost everything that were on the plates.

"That was the biggest, most bestest breakfast I ever had," Richard said, smiling at Rika, while putting some of the dirty dishes in the sink.

Then, there was a knock on the door.

"I bet that's Henry," Rika said, walking over to the door.

She opened the door and saw Alice there.

"Hey Alice. I'm guessing you're picking up Richard, in place of Henry?" Rika asked.

"Yup, hope he wasn't too much trouble," Alice said, looking over at Richard, who was putting his shoes on.

"Oh, no problem. No problem at all," Rika said.

"Come on, Richard. Your mom and dad are waiting for you at headquarters," Alice said, looking at Richard.

"I'm…almost…done," Richard said, struggling to tie his shoes.

"Here," Rika said, grabbing the two shoelaces, "you loop, you swoop, and you pull," she continued as she demonstrated.

"Thanks Rika," Richard said, walking towards Alice.

"So, I'll see you later, Rika," Alice said, walking out the door, with Richard trailing behind her.

To Alice and Richard…

"Ms. McCoy, do you think Ryo and Rika know that they like each other?" Richard asked.

"I don't know, Richard. You should ask them," Alice said, looking down at Richard.

"I did and they didn't answer," Richard said, "but I think they do. Rika and Ryo were kissing this morning."

"THEY WERE WHAT?" Alice yelled out.

"They were kissing, and I don't think they got cooties like all the kids at the park say," Richard said.

"Aw, Richard. People don't get cooties from kissing people," Alice said, laughing a little.

"Oh, well, they were kissing, and Ryo looked some thing like this," Richard said, as he tried to imitate Ryo's staggered look.

"Hahah, something you would expect from Ryo," Alice said, laughing a little harder, "what were you doing, spying on them anyways?"

"I wasn't spying, honest," Richard cried out, "I was going to say hi to Ryo, but when I opened the door a little, they were kissing."

"This gives me a good idea. How about you play matchmaker?" Alice said, with a grin on her face.

"What's a matchmaker?" Richard asked, with a confused look on his face.

"A person that gets to people together," Alice explained.

"That sounds fun," Richard said.

Alice nodded as they walked into the Hypnos building. Alice walked up to the door and typed in her pass code.

"Welcome back, Ms. McCoy," the computer said.

Alice and Richard walked into Henry's office. They grinned, which made Henry feel a little uncomfortable.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Henry asked.

"No, but we know something you don't know," Alice said, "Richard, you can tell him."

"I saw Rika and Ryo kissing," Richard said.

"…" Henry was speechless.

"We need your help to get them together," Alice said.

"Well…" Henry started.

"Please? They were meant to be Mr. Wong," Richard said.

"Well, okay. I'll help," Henry said, "but, do the others know? They might want to help."

"I'll tell them. You just figure out how to get this plan into order," Alice said, before leaving the room.

"I guess I'll have to get your parents away for a while to use some of the radio equipment," Henry said, looking at Richard.

Richard nodded and smiled. "I can't wait to see how this'll turn out," he said.

* * *

DF103 – that's all I have for now…yup yup…please review…and HAPPY NEW YEAR! 


	3. Phase 1: The Group GetTogether

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Phase 1: The Group Get-Together

DF103 – :sighs: gosh…its another new year…and I already know its gonna suck…well anywayz…another chappie is here and…yeah…I dun own digimon, but I own little Richard pats little Richard on the head …thank you to all the people that have reviewed so far…now onto…Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – Phase 1: The Group Get-Together…

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"You stay in here. I'll go try to talk your parents into taking a vacation or something," Henry said, leaving is office.

"Okay!" Richard yelled out, climbing up into the office chair.

Henry walked down the corridor filled with security guards. He walked up to the door where all the Digital World monitors were located. Just as Henry thought, Riley and Yamaki were there.

"Hey, Yamaki," Henry called out, causing Riley and Yamaki turn around.

"Hello Henry. Are you looking for your dad again?" Yamaki asked.

"No, not this time. I was just wondering. You two have been married for about 6-7 years, right?" Henry asked, with a curious look on his face.

"Yeah, we have. In fact, our anniversary is coming up soon, on December 21," Riley said, resting her head on Yamaki's shoulder.

"That's nice. How about you guys go on a second honeymoon like a cruise or something," Henry asked.

"No, we have to stay here to manage the work being done in the Digital World," Yamaki explained.

"What if I managed the place. I know this place like the back of my head," Henry said.

"Okay, what's the catch?" Yamaki asked.

"There is no catch. I just think you two need a little time off," Henry said.

"Well," Yamaki started, looking around the place, "okay."

"Good, I'll buy you guys cruise tickets," Henry said.

"You will?" Riley asked.

"Sure. You guys pay me well here," Henry said.

"That's nice of you," Riley said.

"How about you guys take off from today?" Henry suggested.

"Wait. Who's going to watch Richard for us?" Riley asked.

"I'll have Rika take care of him, since she's unemployed right now," Henry said.

"So, it is true. Rika's back. Okay," Riley answered, pulling Yamaki's arm, "come on Yamaki."

Yamaki and Riley left the room, as everyone around them watched.

"Okay. Everyone go back to whatever you were doing," Henry said, also leaving the room.

Henry walked back to his office and saw Richard asleep in Henry's office chair.

"Well, I guess I'll have to wait for the others then," Henry whispered, as he sat down in another chair.

He opened up a book and started reading, but few minutes later, he fell asleep. Soon, Alice came back with Takato and Jeri.

"Hmm, looks like Henry's asleep," Takato said, looking at Henry.

"Looks like Richard is, too," Jeri added.

Alice went over to Richard, and tapped him on the shoulder. Richard shook his head and rubbed eyes.

"Hi Ms. McCoy," Richard said looking up at her from the chair.

"Hello Richard. Can you do me a favor and wake up Mr. Wong. You know, the same way you wake your dad up?" Alice said with a wink.

"Okay," Richard said, climbing down from the office chair.

Richard climbed up onto Henry's lap.

"What's he gonna do?" Takato asked.

"You'll see," Alice said.

The three of them watched, as Richard raised his two little arms, towards Henry's face. He took his little hands and pinched Henry's cheeks and yelled, "WAKE UP!"

Henry's eyes shot open, looking at Richard, who was giggling on his lap. Henry looked around the room and saw Takato, Jeri, and Alice, laughing.

"I guess I dozed off," Henry said, rubbing his cheeks and setting Richard down from his lap.

"So Alice, you never told us why you called us here," Jeri asked.

"Well, I was waiting for Kazu and Kenta to get here, but I guess they're not coming, so I…" Alice started, until someone barged in through the doors.

"Wait! We're here!" Kenta yelled out, falling to the floor.

"Don't start without us," Kazu said, falling on top of Kenta.

"Well, you can tell that they haven't changed a bit," Henry said.

"We were trying to do business with this one guy," Kenta explained.

"No use for excuses. Now, where was I?" Alice started again.

"Ryo and Rika," Richard said.

"Oh yeah. Richard said that he saw Ryo and Rika kissing this morning…" Alice said.

Silence struck the room, with a few gasps, accompanied by it.

"…and I called you guys here to help Richard with the hook-up," Alice finished.

"Hey, why does Richard get to have all the fun?" Kazu asked.

"Think about it. You, trying to hook Rika with Ryo? I bet you'd get a black-eye, a broken arm…" Jeri said, listing all the things that Rika could do to injure him.

"Okay, okay. I get the point. Rika will kill me if I tried to hook her up with Ryo," Kazu said.

"Good, you get it. Now, I got Richard's parents to go away for a while, and told them that I'll have Rika baby-sit him," Henry said.

"Rika? Baby-sit? That's a riot," Takato said.

"Hey, Rika seems to do well with kids, trust me," Henry said, "Anyways, I'll hook up a microphone onto Richard, so we can hear everything Rika and/or Ryo says."

"Richard, you're going to try to get Ryo and Rika together as much as possible, okay?" Alice asked, looking at Richard.

"Okay," Richard said.

"We'll put an earphone in your ear, so we can tell you what to do, if you need help," Henry said.

"Okay," Richard said.

"Make sure they are alone sometimes, but close enough so we can hear every word they say," Jeri added.

Richard nodded. Henry went to get the equipment from the other room.

"So, how did they kiss?" Jeri asked.

"Umm…how am I supposed to answer that?" Richard asked, in a confused way.

"You know, did they kiss on the cheeks? the lips?" Jeri asked.

"Oh, they kissed on the lips and then Ryo had this funny face on afterwards," Richard said, trying to make the face, Ryo made.

Everyone laughed and said things like "That's Ryo, alright," and "That's hilarious." Then, Henry came in with a big metal box. Everyone gathered around it and listened to what Henry said.

"Okay, Richard, this is your microphone. I'll put it on you somewhere where it won't be touched and where it can't be seen. This is your earphone, so put that in your ear. We'll try to follow you around in the black van outside, okay?" Henry said, putting all the gear on Richard.

Richard nodded.

It was like a dramatic moment in a movie where everyone was ready to report for their duty in an operation. The team all looked at each other for affirmation, before Henry gave the final word.

"Okay guys. This is it. We're going to see this through. We're going to get Ryo and Rika together," Henry said, getting up and leading everyone out the door.

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DF103 – yup yup…there's another chapter for ya…hope you like it…and the next chapter will have some Ryo and Rika moments in it…so dun miss out on the fun…and thanks to all the people who have reviewed…till the next chapter…peace… 


	4. Phase 2: The Matchmaking

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Phase 2: The Matchmaking

DF103 – yup yup…back with another chapter…little Richard is going to play matchmaker! hahahah…this should be pretty interesting…so anywayz…I dun own digimon, but I own Richard and another character that'll be introduced in the middle of this chapter…so here's Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – Phase 2: The Matchmaking…

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The black van drove up to Rika's house. Henry turned around from the driver's seat and looked at Richard.

"Okay, make sure not to blow our cover," Henry said.

"How can I blow your cover, when you don't even have a cover on you?" Richard asked, looking confused.

"He means, don't tell anyone that you're trying to get Rika and Ryo together," Jeri said, giggling.

"Oh, okay, I won't," Richard said.

"Good," Henry said, patting Richard's blonde hair, "Now try to get them at the park."

"Okay," Richard said, as he jumped down from the van.

"Don't worry about Ryo. We'll take care of him. By the time you guys get to the park, he'll be near the hideout, okay?" Alice said.

"Okay," Richard said, heading towards the door.

"Wait, give Rika this letter," Henry said, handing Richard a piece of paper.

Richard nodded, took his duffle bag, and walked up to the door, until he was stopped again.

"And try to find any proof that she likes Ryo," Jeri said.

"Okay," Richard said, making his way towards the door again, as he dragged his bag on the ground. He knocked on the door, as the van left.

"Who is it?" Rika asked from behind the door.

"It's Richard," Richard said, as Rika opened the door.

"Oh, hey Richard," Rika said.

Richard handed Rika the letter that Henry gave him. Rika unfolded it and it read,

_Rika,_

_Sorry for the short notice, but could you watch Richard for me for the next few days? Yamaki and Riley went on a week-long cruise and Alice and I are just packed with work. Since you seemed to get along with Richard, I thought you'd be a perfect person to watch him. I hope he behaves and I'll call ahead of time when I'm going to pick him up. Thanks. _

"Is this from Henry?" Rika asked. "I didn't think he'd be the type to leave a kid without saying anything..."

"Yup," Richard said.

'Good ole Henry,' Rika thought.

"Come in, Richard, and make yourself at home," Rika said, opening the door wider to let him in.

To Henry and the others…

"So how are we going to get Ryo to the park?" Kazu asked.

"I'm thinking," Henry said, as he drove towards Ryo's apartment complex.

"Ask Ryo if he has Richard's coat or something," Takato suggested.

"Okay, okay," Henry said, getting out of the van. "There is a 50/50 chance of him having it. Hopefully, he'll have it or something." He shut the door.

Henry walked into the hallway, where Ryo's place resided. Now all he had to do was remember which room was Ryo's.

"Let's see, its either room 26 or room 28," Henry said to himself.

He walked over to room 26 and knocked on the door. It was after he knocked on the door that he realized that he had the wrong door. Henry was about to leave when he heard the door open and heard a friendly feminine, "Hello?" Henry turned around and looked at her as if she was an angel from heaven. She was about Henry's age, with brown, shoulder length hair, like Jeri, and had blue eyes.

"Yes?" the young lady asked.

Henry was speechless. He looked ridiculous with his mouth wide open.

"Umm…did you need something?" she asked, with a confused look.

"Uh. Sorry, wrong door," Henry said, as he looked into her blue eyes.

She smiled and said, "Are you just saying that as an excuse or are you telling the truth?"

"It's the truth. I'm looking for my friend Ryo, but I got the—" Henry started, but stopped as she walked closer to him.

"I'm Melanie. What's your name?" Melanie asked.

"Um…Henry," Henry said.

"That's a nice name. Nice to meet you, Henry," Melanie said.

"Uh…yeah, yeah you too," Henry stuttered, as he turned around to leave.

"Wait," Melanie said, grabbing Henry's arm, and taking out a pen, "give me a call sometime and maybe you can show me around the city, since I'm new around here," she wrote her phone number on his hand.

"Okay," Henry said, smiling.

As Henry started walking, still looking at Melanie, he stumbled over his own feet and fell. He looked back at her and saw her giggling and waving to him. He flushed red and got up, dusting himself off.

'Go Henry…just go ahead and make a fool of yourself in front of a girl you like,' Henry thought to himself, as he made his way to Ryo's door. He knocked on the door and waited, watching Melanie go back into her room.

"Hey," Ryo said, opening the door wider, "it's a surprise to see you."

"Yeah, I know. I was just wondering if you have Richard's coat?" Henry asked.

"Don't think I saw it—wait, I think he took it off somewhere in the park. Let me get my coat and I'll show you," Ryo said, grabbing his coat.

They walked out of the building and walked towards the van.

"Everyone else is here, too" Henry said, opening the van, "except Rika."

"Cool, I guess," Ryo said, hopping onto the passenger seat.

They drove to the park and walked over to Guilmon's hideout, where the coat really was.

"See, there it is," Ryo said, pointing to the coat.

Simultaneously…

Rika looked at Richard, who was in a T-shirt, on a cold day like this.

"Aren't you a little cold there buddy?" Rika asked.

"Uh. Just a little," Richard said, looking up at Rika.

"Where's your coat?" Rika asked.

"Um. At the hideout," Richard replied, smiling innocently.

"Now that's an issue. How about we take a trip to the park to get it, huh?" Rika asked, reaching over to get her coat.

"Yeah," Richard said, excitedly.

They both walked out the door and made their way to the park.

"I think it's in the hideout," Richard said.

The two of them walked over to the hideout and saw Henry talking to someone.

"Hey Henry," Rika said, stepping into the hideout, "I thought you had work to do."

"Oh, it's my lunch break right now," Henry answered.

"Hiya, pumpkin," a voice said, from one corner.

"Ryo?" Rika asked, surprised by his voice.

"Long time, no see, wildcat," Ryo said, flashing a smile.

"Hi, Ryo!" Richard yelled, giving him a hug.

"Hey, Richard. How's your day with Rika so far?" Ryo asked.

"Good," Richard answered.

"That's good," Ryo replied.

"Um. I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes," Henry said, "Come on, Richard."

"So..." Ryo started.

"Look, if it's about this morning, forget it," Rika said.

"What about this morning?" Ryo said, smiling again.

"Very funny," Rika said.

"But, seriously. I wasn't going to ask that," Ryo said, "I was going to ask about your time with Richard."

"Oh, my bad," Rika said, watching Richard chasing Henry around, "he's a cute kid."

"Yeah," Ryo said, watching Richard also.

There seemed to be an awkward silence between them.

'Maybe I can take this chance to ask her, since she looks dazed,' Ryo thought.

"Rika? Do you like me?" Ryo asked.

"Mm-hmm," Rika said, absent-mindedly.

"Really?" Ryo asked.

"...Huh?" Rika asked, as she looked back at Ryo, who was smiling, "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Ryo said, innocently.

"Whatever," Rika said.

"Hey, there's a new heated pool built near my apartment. Maybe you and Richard can come over later to my place and the three of us can go together," Ryo said.

"Heated pool? Sounds fun. But I don't know if Richard can swim," Rika said.

"If he does, that's great. If he doesn't, we'll teach him," Ryo said.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then," Rika said, getting up.

"Yeah, later," Ryo said.

Rika went out to talk to Henry about the swimming pool idea, while Ryo still stayed in the old shack.

'I wonder if she really meant to say "mm-hmm" because, afterall, she was 'out there,' Ryo thought.

"At least, I'll get to talk to her more," Ryo said aloud.

Back to Rika and Henry...

"Are you sure it's okay for me to take him to the pool?" Rika asked.

"Yes, it's okay, Rika," Henry said.

"Okay, just making sure," Rika said, watching Richard again.

"Richard, get your coat. You're going to be leaving soon," Henry said, facing Richard.

"Okay, Mr. Wong," Richard said, running to the hideout.

"By the way, thanks for taking care of him," Henry said, facing Rika again.

"No problem," Rika said, "he's no problem at all."

"That's good. He's a good kid," Henry said, as Richard ran towards them with his coat on.

"Okay, I hope you brought your swimming trunks because we're going swimming," Rika said.

"Yay!" Richard said.

"Now, be a good boy for Rika," Henry said.

"Okay," Richard said, smiling once again.

Ryo soon came out of the hideout and walked up to them.

"So, I'll see you whenever you come, right?" Ryo asked.

"Um, do you want me to call before we leave," Rika asked.

"That'd be kinda nice," Ryo answered, "here, I'll give you my number since you probably don't know it."

Ryo took out a pen from his pocket and wrote it on Rika's hand. As Henry watched them, he remembered Melanie and how she wrote her number on his hand. Henry looked down at his hand and saw the number. He thought about her the whole while he stood there.

"Henry...Henry?" Ryo said, slightly shaking him.

"Huh?" Henry said.

"Dude, let's go," Ryo said, heading for the van.

"Okay, I'll call you when I'll be able to pick Richard up," Henry said, stooping down to Richard's height.

"Put the microphone in your towel bag when you go swimming, okay?" Henry whispered, into Richard's ears.

Richard nodded as Henry stood up and walked over to the van.

"So you ready for a fun day?" Rika asked.

Richard simply nodded.

* * *

DF103 - Sorry for the long wait people...yup yup...school starts and writing time becomes scarce so...I won't be updating as fast as I usually do...but...here's another chapter...hope you like it...please review...I would really appreciate it...well, till next chapter...PEACE 


	5. Where the Fun Begins and Ends

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Where the Fun Begins and Ends

Little Richard – :walks in with a notebook and a script: Hi everyone! You all know me as Richard from this fic. DF103 said she wasn't going to put the fifth chapter out till next weekend, but she already had it written out in her notebook, so for the sake of you people, I got it out for ya. Yup. She then wrote on here, that she doesn't own digimon, but she owns me and Melanie. I just want to thank all the people who have reviewed. Without you people, I would not be possible nor would this fic. So, without further ado, DF103 presents Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika - Where the Fun Begins and Ends…

* * *

"Rika? Can I ask you a question?" Richard asked, while walking towards Rika's house.

"Sure," Rika said.

"Do you like Mr. Akiyama?" Richard asked.

"I thought you already asked me that before," Rika said, looking down at Richard.

"Um. Yeah, but you never answered it," Richard said.

"Well……no," Rika said, with an unsure look on her face.

"Then why'd you say we would go with him to the pool?" Richard asked, looking up at Rika.

"Well…uh…because I didn't think you would want to be bored all day," Rika said, hesitantly.

"Oh…" Richard said.

In the van…

While all that went on, Jeri had the headphones on and listened intently to everything Rika and Richard said.

"That is such a lie," Jeri yelled out.

"What's such a lie?" Ryo asked.

"Oh…heheheh, nothing," Jeri said.

"Right," Ryo said.

Henry drove up in front of the apartment building. Ryo got out of the van and said, "Thanks for the ride, Henry."

"No problem. Have fun with Rika and Richard," Henry said.

"Bye, Ryo," was all that Ryo heard before he closed the door.

Ryo went inside and unlocked his door.

"Now I have to find those trunks," Ryo said, going through all his clothes to find them.

To Rika and Richard…

They got to the house and went in. Richard went to his bag and started digging for his swimming trunks and towel.

"After you find your things, I'll put your bag in my grandmother's room," Rika said, walking into her room to grab her things.

Rika went through all her dressers and couldn't find her bathing suit.

'Maybe it's in the bathroom,' Rika thought, walking into the bathroom.

She walked into the bathroom and just as she thought, there was her bathing suit.

"Bingo," Rika said and closed the door to put it on.

Richard walked up to the bathroom door with his things, knocked on it a couple of times, before Rika said, "If you need to change, um, change in my room."

"Okay," Richard said, walking into Rika's room and closing the door.

Richard meticulously took off the microphone and put it in the bag with his towel. He then changed into his trunks and put his shirt on, putting his pants in the bag. After doing so, with nothing to do, he looked around the room. He sat on the bed and saw something strange under the pillow. He lifted the pillow and found a notebook. Being the curious kid he is, he opened the notebook only to see writing.

With some of the reading skills he learned in school, he made an attempt on reading the last entry written in the notebook.

"After being…as…asked…by the kid…may…maybe I rea…really like Ryo…or maybe ev…even more," Richard read.

He then heard footsteps, so he put the notebook back under the pillow.

"Are you done getting changed?" Rika asked, from behind the door.

"Yeah," Richard said, opening the door.

"Good. I just have to call Ryo and then we'll be going, okay?" Rika said, wearing a large T-shirt and a pair of shorts over her suit.

"Okay," Richard said, carrying his bag out of the room and following Rika towards the phone.

In the van…

Now that Ryo is out, Jeri unhooked the headphones so everyone could hear what was going on. There was a slight crackle through the speakers, and then heard a small voice.

"Richard probably put the mic in the bag already. That's probably him talking," Alice explained, as they continued to listen.

"…maybe I rea…really like Ryo…or maybe ev…even more," was all they caught.

"Has he always talked like that?" Kenta asked.

"No, I think he's reading something," Henry said.

Alice gasped and said, "That's probably Rika's journal or something."

"Bingo! Wait, Rika keeps a journal?" Kazu yelled out.

"Richard found proof!" Takato said.

Back at Rika's house…

Rika picked up the phone and dialed the number that's on her hand.

"Hello?" said the person on the other side of the phone.

"Ryo?" Rika asked.

"Hey, Rika. You ready for some fun?" Ryo asked.

"Ryo, you sounded really corny saying that," Rika said.

"Oh, sorry," Ryo answered.

"So, we're on our way, okay?" Rika said, looking at Richard, who is staring back at her.

"Okay, I'll see you guys when you get here," Ryo said, "see ya, pumpkin."

"Akiyama, I'm warning you," Rika said, but unfortunately for her, Ryo had already hung up.

Rika set the phone down on the charger again, and turned to Richard.

"You ready to go?" Rika asked.

"Yup," Richard said, carrying his little bag.

"Let's go," Rika said, opening the door, with her bag over her shoulder.

They both walked out and headed for Ryo's house. Few minutes later, when they got there, they walked up to the door with the large visible dent, and knocked.

"Hey guys," Ryo said, from behind them, making Rika and Richard jump.

"Why are you here," Rika asked pointing to the him, "and not in there," then pointing to the door.

"I went to get us some drinks. We have to stay hydrated, you know," Ryo said, holding up the grocery bag.

"Cool," Richard said, jumping for joy.

"Come on, lets go," Ryo said, leading the way to the pool.

The three of them walked a couple of miles before getting to the gate, right in front of the pool area.

"Wow, I expected people to be here," Rika said, "but no one is here."

"Well that just means that there'll be more fun for us," Ryo said, with his remarkable smile.

"Just go," Rika said.

Ryo opened the door and Richard ran into the pool area. He put his bag on a seat, took off his shirt, and jumped into the pool.

"Well, I guess he knows how to swim," Ryo said, walking up to the edge of the pool, with Rika following.

They watched Richard, who was still underwater. Ryo looked at his watch and his eyes widened.

"He's been under there for 30 seconds and counting," Ryo said, with a hint of worry.

"Well, he's moving," Rika said, pointing at the dark shadow in the water.

"40 seconds," Ryo said, still looking at his watch.

"He's not moving anymore," Rika said, starting to freak out.  
"50 seconds," Ryo said, taking his eyes off the watch, "Richard? Richard?"

At this point Ryo and Rika started to panic, and were about to jump in until, Richard's face popped out of the water.

"Hi," Richard said, with a large smile on his face.

"Richard…you…you…" Rika stuttered, in an angry manner.

"Come on, Rika, he's just a kid," Ryo said, winking at Richard.

Richard made puppy dog eyes to Rika, which loosened her attitude a bit.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you scared me, staying down there for almost a minute," Rika said, with an apologetic smile on her face.

"It's okay. I guess it's sorta my fault," Richard said, then looking back at the two, "are you guys just going to stand there, or are you coming in?"

Rika took off her shirt and shorts, revealing her lavender bathing suit. She walked up to the edge of the pool again and took out her pony tail, letting it flow down to her shoulders.

Ryo took his watch and his shirt off, which revealed nothing more than his distinct abs, and his turquoise swimming trunks. He, too, walked up to the edge of the pool, next to Rika. They both looked at each other, but turned away. Watching this, Richard decided to break the silence.

"So are you coming in?" Richard asked again, swimming around in the large pool.

"Be my guest, Rika, you go in first," Ryo said kindly, looking back at Rika.

Rika grinned and said, "No, you can go in first," then pushed him into the pool.

Rika stood there laughing at Ryo, as he reached the surface of the water.

"I didn't see that coming," he said, smiling, then looking at Richard.

Ryo gave him a nod and they both splashed water on Rika.

"Hey, quit it. I'm coming, I'm coming," Rika said, jumping into the pool.

"It's about time," Ryo said, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah," Rika said, starting to swim around.

They swam around for a few hours, just enjoying themselves. They took little breaks, every once in a while, but in the end they seemed to have a great time. The three of them were heading into the showers until, Ryo spotted a Jacuzzi.

"Hey, how about we hit the Jacuzzi before we go," Ryo said.

"Okay, I guess," Rika said.

They all got in and relaxed as the water pressure soothed their body, after a long day of swimming. After a few minutes passed, Richard decided to head into the showers.

"I'm gonna go wash up," Richard said, grabbing his towel, and clothes, leaving the bag and the microphone close to where Rika and Ryo were.

"Okay," Rika said, closing her eyes, still relaxing.

To Henry and the others…

"Yes, he's got them alone," Kenta said.

"Yeah, in a Jacuzzi. Don't you know what people do in those?" Jeri asked.

"Ryo and Rika? They may like each other, but I'd doubt they'd do that," Alice said.

"Shhh…they're starting to talk," Henry said.

Back to Ryo and Rika

"Rika, do you want to leave?" Ryo asked, looking at Rika, "Rika?"

No answer.

'Aw, she's asleep, I think," Ryo thought.

He looked at her, but couldn't tell if she was asleep. So he moved next to her and looked at her, and indeed she was asleep. Her head kept on bobbing, from side to side, and finally made it's way onto Ryo's shoulder.

"Ryo, I love you," Rika said, softly, with her eyes still closed.

'Is she still sleeping?' Ryo thought, in doubt of what he just heard.

Ryo took his fingers and ran it through Rika's wet, auburn-colored hair.

"Hmm…she seems like she's sleeping," Ryo whispered to himself, as another risky idea sprung into mind.

He brought her chin up ever so slightly and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. As this happened, Rika's eyes flew open. She shoved him away from her.

"Ryo? What was that about!" Rika asked.

"I…I…uhh…" Ryo stuttered, looking for the right words to come out if his mouth.

Rika got out, took her clothes and went into the showers, as Richard came out. Richard looked at Rika, then Ryo, and back again. He seemed discouraged, as he tried to figure out what just happened. Ryo got out and got his clothes, heading towards the other set of showers, for the guys.

Richard walked over to his bag, took out the mic, and looked at it unpromisingly.

"I think the plan just failed," Richard said, sadly, into the mic, then putting it back in the bag.

* * *

Little Richard – Sad indeed, yup. What will I do to get them back together? Only one person knows. DigiFreak103. Maybe if you beg her enough, she'll write the next chapter soon. But, I don't know, that's just me. Anyway, please review. And I'll see all of you in the next chapter. 


	6. It's When You Almost Lose A Very Good Fr...

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

It's When You Almost Lose A Very Good Friend...

DF103 – Hey people…I'm back…thanks to Richard giving me that nice wake up call…umm since he already put up chapter 5…I might as well type chapter 6, right? hahahah…anywayz…this chapter will have many different POVs and a split section thingy…so pay attention…thanks to all the reviewers…I dun own digimon, but I own Richard and Melanie…so on with fic…Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – It's When You Almost Lose A Very Good Friend…

READER'S DISCRETION ADVISED – This content has some discussion about homosexuality…but most definitely not a yaoi or yuri type thing… -.-;;

* * *

In the van…

"I think the plan just failed," Richard said, through the radio. The radio clicked.

Silence struck the van, as everyone just looked at each other, exchanging discouraging glances. All the work they had done up to that point was down the drain.

"What are we going to do now?" Kazu asked.

"I don't know," Henry said, thinking, "Wait. I got it. It's obvious by now that they 'love' each other, because both have admitted to it."

"Mm-hmm," the others said.

Henry gathered everyone together and whispered what he thought was the best idea he has ever had. Almost everyone's mouths dropped by that idea except Jeri, who had an extremely large grin on her face.

"I think that's a great idea, I mean, who could they be better off with than each other," Jeri said.

"That's true, I guess. Rika would pulverize any other guy that touches her," Kazu said.

"Yeah," Kenta said, laughing, "'Don't touch me you big jerk,'" he said, mimicking Rika's tone of voice.

"Come on. Stay on task," Alice said.

"Okay, I have the perfect plan," Henry said, as everyone moved in, to listen to what he had to say.

At the pool…

Richard sat at the edge of the pool, thinking. The cheerful kid-face didn't seem to want to show on Richard's face.

"Hey, Richard," Rika said, from behind him.

"Hi," Richard said, in a quiet tone.

"Are you okay?" Rika asked, concerned about Richard.

"Yeah," Richard said, smiling.

"So, are you ready to go?" Rika asked.

"Can I say goodbye to Ryo?" Richard asked.

"Sure," Rika said.

As if on cue, Ryo came out with his towel slung over his shoulder. He walked up to the two of them and looked at the two.

"Bye, Ryo," Richard said, giving him a big hug.

"See ya, Richard," Ryo said, kneeling down and hugging him back.

He got up again and looked at Rika, who had her face turned away from him.

"Rika, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, and if you can find it anywhere in your heart to forgive…" Ryo said, as his words trailed off.

"Thanks for the great day today, Ryo," Rika said, turning her head towards him.

"Yeah, no problem," he said, looking back at her.

"Well, I'll talk to you some other time, alright?" Rika said, picking up her bag.

"Yeah," Ryo said, almost in a whisper.

"Come on, Richard," Rika said, as she let him lead the way.

Ryo stood there, watching them leave, until their shadowy figure faded around the corner. He got up, gathering his things, and left also.

The Double "R" Force a.k.a. Henry and the other tamers…

"Okay, Jeri, you can head towards Rika's house, now," Henry said, opening the van door.

"Roger that," Jeri said, into the microphone, hidden within her shirt.

"…and Takato, you can go to Ryo's house," Alice said.

"Okay," Takato said, also into the hidden microphone.

"Remember, that you guys have to find some hard evidence that they both like each other, or this plan will backfire, too," Henry explained.

"Affirmative," Takato and Jeri said, in unison.

The two of them left in separate directions, taking their assigned places.

"Okay, umm, you two can monitor the recording of the two different conversations," Alice said, looking at Kazu and Kenta.

"Aw, do we have to?" Kazu complained.

"Yes, you have to," Alice said, glaring at him.

"I'll get the important item," Henry whispered, then turned to Kazu and Kenta, "And whatever you do, don't let anyone inside this van, unless it's one of us. Do you understand?"

"Wait, isn't Alice going to be here with us?" Kenta asked.

"I'm afraid not, I have to go to Hypnos headquarters to see if everything is alright," Alice said.

"Oh," Kazu said, as Henry and Alice left the van.

"Guess we better get set then," Kazu said.

They both crawled over to their respected radio devices and switched it on.

Rika and Richard…

They both walked into the house and put their bags down, taking out their wet suits and hanging them in the backyard. Almost immediately after they hung their suits, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Richard said, running to the door, to get it.

"Hi Jeri!" Richard said, opening the door, and hugging Jeri.

"Hey, buddy," Jeri said, "Is Rika around?"

"Yeah, I'll get her," Richard said, running back into the backyard to get Rika.

Jeri let herself inside and sat on the ledge.

"Hey, Jeri," Rika said.

"Hi Rika," Jeri said, standing up and embracing Rika into a hug.

"So what brings you here?" Rika asked.

"Oh, you know, like old times, just to hang out. I mean, we haven't talked to each other, in almost forever," Jeri said.

"That's true," Rika said, laughing, "very true."

As Richard looked at Jeri, she winked at him. He knew that she was going to take care of things for right now, so he went to his temporary room.

Ryo's apartment room…

Ryo sighed as he walked into his room. He was about to close the door until he saw a friendly face walk up to him.

"Hey, Takato," Ryo said, his face lighting up.

"Hey, um, can we talk?" Takato asked.

"Sure," Ryo said, "Come in."

They sat down in font of the coffee table.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Ryo asked.

"I came to talk about relationships," Takato said, hesitantly.

"Oh, you mean, you and Jeri?" Ryo asked.

"No, about you and Rika," Takato said.

"Oh," Ryo said, bracing himself for what might come next.

Rika and Jeri…

"So how was the day at the pool, with you know who?" Jeri asked.

"Great, I guess," Rika lied.

Ryo and Takato…

"It was fine at first, but in the end, it was terrible," Ryo said.

"How did it end up terrible?" Takato asked.

Rika and Jeri…

"You're not telling me something," Jeri said, giving her 'tell me now' look.

"Well, it was great for the first few hours," Rika started, as Jeri nodded, "but when we were heading towards the showers, Ryo spotted a Jacuzzi—"

"…and you decided to go in?" Jeri ended Rika's sentence.

"Yeah," Rika said.

"But, that's not everything, is it?" Jeri asked.

"No," Rika answered.

Ryo and Takato…

"What happened in the Jacuzzi," Takato asked.

"Nothing really, until Richard left to take a shower," Ryo said, "I was talking to Rika, but she wasn't answering, so I looked over and saw her sleeping. Well, like an idiot, I kissed her and she went berserk."

"Did she slap you?" Takato asked.

"Actually, she never did," Ryo said.

Rika and Jeri…

"If you got so mad, why didn't you slap him?" Jeri asked.

"I-I don't know," Rika said, stuttering.

"You're still not telling me something," Jeri said.

"Uhh…" Rika said.

"Come on, Rika, spill," Jeri said.

Ryo and Takato…

"She said, 'Ryo, I love you,'" Ryo said.

"Rika said that?" Takato asked, surprisingly.

"Well, technically, she was asleep," Ryo said.

"Still, at least you know that she 'loves' you," Takato said, grinning.

"Yeah," Ryo said, smiling.

"Why don't you take her to dinner? You know, as an apology," Takato said, nudging Ryo's arm.

"Good idea," Ryo said.

Rika and Jeri…

"I think you should apologize to him for over-reacting," Jeri said.

"I should, shouldn't I," Rika said, walking over to the phone.

RING RING

"Hello?" Rika said, answering the phone.

"Hey Rika, it's me, Ryo," Ryo said.

"Oh, hey. I was just about to call you," Rika said.

"Really? About what?" Ryo asked.

"I just wanted to apologize about earlier today," Rika started, "I was wrong to make a big deal of what happened."

"No need for an apology. I was wrong in doing what I did," Ryo said.

"Darn right, you were," Rika said, laughing, "So I guess I'll see you later?"

"Wait, may I take you to dinner tonight? You know, as an apology thing," Ryo asked.

"You've got some nerve to call me up and ask me if I'd like to go have dinner with you," Rika said, turning around to see a very excited look on Jeri's face.

"I know," Ryo said, giving a hopeful look towards Takato.

"I'd like to but, I have to watch Richard," Rika said.

"Oh," Ryo said, sadly.

"Rika, I can watch Richard for you. Go on, say 'yes.'" Jeri whispered.

"Just kidding," Rika said, changing her answer.

"Really? Uhh…great. I'll come around 7:30 tonight, okay?" Ryo asked.

"Okay, see you then," Rika said, "Bye."

Rika put the phone down and turned to see Jeri. Rika gave a hopeful smile and Jeri hugged her. Richard eavesdropped throughout the whole conversation. He was happy to know that there's still a chance of getting Ryo and Rika together.

As all this went on…

"Umm…this one looks nice," Henry said, pointing to the diamond ring, in the glass showcase.

The clerk took out and handed the ring, in it's box, to Henry to look at. He nodded as he gave it back to the man. The man gave Henry the boxed ring, as Henry paid for it.

"Thanks," Henry said, as he walked out of the jewelry shop.

He walked up to the van, and looked through the window, to see Kazu and Kenta, sleeping with their headphones hanging off their heads.

"Hey! Wake up!" Henry yelled, banging on the door.

"Ahhh! They've come to get us," Kazu yelled, as he looked at the dark figure at the door.

"It's just me, Henry," Henry said.

"Oh," Kenta said, as he unlocked the door.

"Okay, so when is the date tonight?" Henry asked.

"Umm…I don't know. We fell asleep a few minutes after you guys left," Kazu said.

"Ugh," Henry grunted, as he walked over to the radios, "At least you recorded it," Henry said, rewinding the tape.

"…come around 7:30 tonight, okay?" the recorder repeated.

"7:30?" Henry said, looking at his watch, "5:00, okay, I'll be ready."

Two and a half hours later…

Henry was still sitting in the van, waiting for Ryo to pass by. He looked out the window and saw a tall, brown haired, well-dressed man pass by. Henry got up and ran out of the van carrying the small box.

"Ryo!" Henry said, running towards him.

"Hey Henry," Ryo said, turning around.

"Here," Henry said, giving him the small box.

Ryo opened it and switched glances between it and Henry. Right when Ryo was about to say something, Melanie came around the corner of the building.

"Henry, are you gay?" Ryo asked, with the weirdest look on his face.

"Henry's gay?" Melanie whispered, heartbroken.

"NO! I'm not gay. I want you to ask Rika to marry you," Henry said, with his face flushed red from the remark.

"But what if—" Ryo started.

"She'll say 'yes,' I know it," Henry said, "Now hurry up and go, or you'll be late."

Ryo smiled and said, "Thanks. You're a pal."

"No problem," Henry said, as Ryo continued walking.

"What was that about?" Melanie asked.

"May I take you out for some coffee while I explain it to you?" Henry asked, smiling.

"Sure," Melanie said, smiling back at him, "but you're really not gay, right?

"If I was, would I do this?" Henry said, giving her a soft kiss on the cheeks.

"No," Melanie said, as they both walked down to a nearby coffee shop.

* * *

DF103 – (O.O)…what was I thinking? well…anywayz…there's another chapter for all you people out there…yup yup…hope you liked it…

Little Richard – What do you think Rika will say?

DF103 – I'm the author…I know what she'll say…but do you think you know? If you do send your guess to or AIM me at SakP103…or if you just want to wait and see…I'll see you in the next chapter…

Little Richard – Please review…


	7. That's When You Realize the Value of Tha...

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

…That's When You Realize the Value of That Friendship

Little Richard – Hey people of the fanfic world. DF103 is sleeping right now, hahah, and it's :looks at the clock: 12:30.

Melanie – Then shouldn't you be in bed, too?

Little Richard – No, it's 12:30 in the afternoon.

Melanie – Oh great. -.-;;

Little Richard – I'd wake her up, but her other friends, including her b/f is in there, too.

Melanie – What? Did she have a sleepover or something?

Little Richard – Yeah, that's why we're here, to introduce the next chapter.

Melanie – Oh yeah, hahahah, that's right. Well, according to DF103's notebook, she doesn't own digimon, but she owns us.

Little Richard – Now to Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika - That's When You Realize the Value of That Friendship…inspired by the song "Flying Without Wings"

* * *

Ryo walked along the streets, looking at the box that Henry gave him. His fingers traced the velvety blue surface thatturned darkerwhen rubbed one way. He clutched it and put it in his pocket, a smile playing upon his face.

'Henry, you are so full of surprises,' Ryo thought, as he went into the flower shop to get some flowers.

He came out with a small bouquet of red roses. He held onto it as he headed towards Rika's house.

Rika's fashion controversy with Jeri…

"Rika, you have to wear something nice," Jeri insisted, watching Rika come in and out of her room with different types of clothes on.

"Oh come on, Jeri," Rika said, wearing jeans and a shirt.

"Ryo will probably think that you don't care about him if you wear something like that," Jeri said.

"Your point?" Rika said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"If you like him, you have to show that you somewhat care," Jeri said, turning to Richard, "See, he's dressed nicely, right?" Jeri said, as Rika looked at Richard's blue turtleneck and khaki jeans.

"I guess," Rika said, going back in her room to change again.

"Maybe you should try black pants," Jeri suggested, from the other side of the door.

"…and a pretty shirt," Richard added, smiling at Jeri.

"Yeah, yeah," Rika said, looking through her clothes to find what was suggested.

Rika rummaged through her clothes to look for what Jeri and Richard suggested.

"Aha," Rika said, holding up her shirt which was given to her a while back at a photo shoot, "I really hate this shirt."

Rika delved around some more to look for her black pants. She looked in every drawer and still couldn't find it.

"Maybe its in the closet," Rika said, walking over to the closet.

Sure enough, her pants were in there. She put her clothes on and went back out into the hallway to get Jeri and Richard's opinion.

"Aw," Jeri squealed, "you look beautiful."

"Yeah Rika, you look pretty," Richard said, smiling.

"Well, if you think it's okay, I guess it's okay," Rika said, walking into the bathroom and looking in the mirror.

"Rika, hurry up and get washed up. Ryo is gonna be here soon," Jeri said, "I'll find you a coat to match your white top and black pants."

"Okay," Rika said, as Jeri and Richard turned to walk into Rika's room, "and Jeri, thank you."

Jeri gave Rika a smile and said, "No problem, what are friends for."

Rika removed her clothes and stepped into the shower. Rika started to lather her hair with shampoo, as the hot water pelted against her body. While doing so, she thought about how everything turned out since coming back to West Shinjuku.

'Everyone still remembers me,' she thought, 'and they haven't changed much since high school.'

She started to wash her body, still thinking.

'And all this time before now, I thought everyone hated my guts,' Rika thought, a smile spreading across her face.

She rinsed her self and grabbed a towel. She dried herself up and changed.

"Jeri, what time is it?" Rika said, walking into her room, brushing her hair.

"7:15," Jeri said, holding up a coat, "here, you can wear this. They say its gonna be cold tonight, but then of course Ryo can keep you warm, too."

Rika shot a glare at Jeri.

"Sorry," Jeri said.

"Rika, I think you should keep your hair like that," Richard said, pointing to Rika's wet, untied hair.

"You know, he's got a point there. You do look nicer with your hair down," Jeri said.

"Okay, I'll leave it down," Rika said, putting the coat on, "So what you think?"

"You look great," Jeri said, "and make sure you wear a nice pair of shoes on, like clogs."

With Ryo…

Ryo walked up to the gate that enclosed Rika's traditional Japanese home. He walked through the gate and walked up to the door, clutching the bouquet of roses in his right hand. He stuck his other hand in his jacket pocket to see if the box was still present.

'Good, didn't drop it,' Ryo thought, knocking on the door.

Rika, Jeri, and Richard…

"Rika, he's here. Get the door," Jeri said, as Rika rushed over to the door.

Rika got to the door, only to see Richard already having a conversation with Ryo.

"Rika, Ryo's here," Richard informed, looking up at Rika.

"Wow, Rika, you look…'don't say beautiful, she'll get mad'…nice," Ryo said.

"Thanks," Rika said, slipping into her clogs.

"These are for you," Ryo said, handing her the bouquet of flowers.

"Uh…thanks," Rika said, hesitantly. It'd be a lie to say if she wasn't nervous, for this was the first time she been on a "date" with someone she really secretly admired.

Jeri came up to the them, as Richard ran to her.

"Now Ryo, you better bring her back here before midnight," Jeri joked, laughing at what she said. All of them laughed except Rika who only stood there with a weak smile.

"Oh, come on, Rika. We're both friends. Don't worry about it," Ryo assured, 'I sure hope I don't screw up the small bond that we have between us.'

"Go on, Rika, don't worry about Richard. I'll watch over him for you. Go and have some fun," Jeri said.

"Thanks again, Jeri," Rika said, walking out the door with Ryo.

"So, Rika, what do you wanna do after we have dinner?" Ryo asked, casually, to start a conversation.

"How about we just keep it simple and pretend that we're just hanging out like we used to do," Rika said.

Henry and Melanie…

"So you're trying to get them together?" Melanie asked, holding her warm cup of coffee.

"Mm-hmm," Henry said, setting his cup down, "and that's why I gave my friend, Ryo, the ring."

"Oh, it's all so clear to me now," Melanie said.

"I bet it is," Henry said.

"How do you know if they're right for each other? Or what if the plan backfires?" Melanie asked.

"It's already backfired once, and this is pretty much the backup plan," Henry said, "and I know the plan won't fail because the two of them have known each other for quite a while. My friends and I wouldn't force it upon them if we knew they didn't know each other well enough."

"You must be a very good friend to try and get your friends together to become a happy couple," Melanie said, with a smile.

"Let's hope they think the same way you do when they find out I set them up. If they found out, I was pondering on whether they would strangle me right there or torture me slowly," Henry said, laughing.

Just then, there was a loud pulsing sound coming from Henry.

"Sorry, that must be my cell," Henry said, searching for it.

At Rika's house…

"Come on, Henry, pick up," Jeri said, pacing around the floor, with the phone to her ear.

Richard sat on the floor, watching Jeri pace around floor.

At the coffee shop…

Henry finally found his cell phone, next to the napkin dispenser. He looked at it, to see who was calling.

"Hey Jeri," Henry said.

"It's about time you picked up the phone," Jeri said, impatiently.

"Sorry, I was looking for my cell," Henry said.

"Sure," Jeri said, doubtfully, "anyways, Rika and Ryo left already. What do we do now?"

"We wait," Henry said, looking at Melanie, "we really can't get them any closer than they are now. It's all up to the power of love."

"Henry...that really sounded corny," Jeri said, "but I guess you're right. What are you doing anyways?"

"I'm having a cup of coffee," Henry said, smiling at Melanie.

"Alone?" Jeri asked, slyly.

"No, with a friend," Henry said, smiling, then turned the phone off.

Back at the house…

"Henry…Henry!" Jeri yelled into the phone.

Jeri let out a small grunt, and put the phone back in it's place.

Now to Ryo and Rika…

"A table for two please," Ryo said, politely, to the host.

"Will that be for smoking or non-smoking," the host asked, grabbing a couple of menus.

"Non-smoking, please," Ryo answered.

The host scribbled something down and said, "Come with me please." The two of them followed the man to their table.

"May I start you off with something to drink?" the host asked, as Ryo and Rika took a seat.

"I'll have water," Rika said, looking through the menu.

"I'll have water, also," Ryo said.

"Okay, I'll get you your drinks and someone will be right with you in a few minutes to take your order," the host said, leaving the two of them.

"So Rika, when will you retrieve your things that are in America?" Ryo asked, flipping through the menu.

"I never really thought about that," Rika said, looking up from the menu, "maybe I should get them flown over here or something."

"Good thing I gave you a friendly reminder," Ryo said, smiling.

"Good evening, I am Masahiko, your waiter for toni…Rika? Ryo?" Masahiko asked.

"Hey, I didn't know you worked here," Ryo said, surprised.

"I do. Thanks to Jeri," Masahiko answered, "anyway, what will you be having tonite?"

"I'll have the sukiyaki steak, with a side order of fried rice and steamed vegetables," Ryo said, handing his menu to Masahiko.

"I'll have the same," Rika said, also handing him the menu.

"Okay, and would you like an appetizer for starters?" Masahiko asked, as he wrote the orders down.

"No thanks," Ryo said, "Rika, how about you?"

Rika shook her head.

"Okay, it'll be a few minutes for your meals to arrive," Masahiko said, leaving, and as the drinks came.

"This is gonna be some night, huh?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah," Rika said, giving a small smile.

Ryo and Rika spent the next few minutes chatting more than ever. They talked until the food came.

"Here's your dinner," Masahiko said, handing out the plates, "enjoy your meal and I'll be back in a few to give you your bill."

As Masahiko left, they began to eat in silence. They both gave each other glances every once in a while. Once they were finished, they looked at the bill, which was left for them, upside down on the table.

"I'll pay for this, Rika," Ryo said, taking out his wallet.

"No, it's okay. I'll pay for it," Rika said.

"Remember, I'm the one that wanted to apologize," Ryo said, smiling.

He placed the amount of money needed on the table plus extra for tip. As the two of them got up to leave, Masahiko waved to them and they waved back.

"You wanna go take a walk before I take you home?" Ryo asked.

"Sure, why not," Rika said.

"It's kinda chilly out here. Are you cold?" Ryo asked, politely.

"No, I'm fine, thank you, Akiyama," Rika said.

They made it to the park. They sat on a bench, near a dim light post, and observed the night sky, showing only a few glimmering stars.

"You know, I heard that for every star that you can see, there are about a billion more," Ryo said, looking up, and then to Rika.

"Oh really," Rika said, "and since when did you become an astronomer?"

"For quite a while," Ryo joked, smiling at Rika.

"Sure," Rika said, returning a smile.

Ryo and Rika's eyes met. Ryo gave a smile, as another smile crept upon Rika's face.

"You know, as long as I can remember, I don't remember anytime I've made you smile more than once in a day," Ryo said, still smiling.

"Why wouldn't I? I've known you forever" Rika said.

"That's true. We have known each other for a while, haven't we?" Ryo said, looking back up the stars.

"Yeah," Rika said, leaning back on the bench, resting her head on it.

'Would I ruin the moment if I did it now?' Ryo thought, glancing over towards Rika.

"Ryo?" Rika said, looking over at him.

"You called me by my first name," Ryo said, "anyway, what?"

"Remember, when I told you to forget everything that happened this morning," Rika said.

"Yeah," Ryo said.

"Did you forget it, because I didn't," Rika said, sitting back up and facing Ryo.

"Me either," Ryo said.

Rika slowly leaned in towards Ryo. Ryo also moved closer towards Rika. Timidly, Rika's lips met with Ryo's lips. With that small kiss, they pulled away, and looked at each other. That's when Ryo reached into his pocket.

As Ryo pulled out the small little box, Rika's eyes followed Ryo's hand. Bringing it into view, Ryo held the box in front of Rika. Rika stared at it, looking at it and Ryo. He opened the box and it revealed the diamond ring.

Rika looked at it awe, and looked back at Ryo. Ryo gave a weak, nervous smile.

"Rika, will you marry me?" Ryo asked.

Rika had her eyes locked on Ryo's. She shut her eyes, and held her head down.

"I'm sorry, Ryo," Rika whispered.

* * *

Little Richard – Why am I always here on a sad moment?

Melanie – I dunno, that's how DF103 wrote it.

DF103 - :yawn:

Melanie – It's about time you woke up. It's :looks at time: 1 in the afternoon. I think you should explain to your readers what this is all about.

DF103 – Not today…another day's good…yup… (-.-)…z…Z…z…Z…

Little Richard – You heard her. She'll explain next chapter. Till then, review please.


	8. But, Where Did That Friendship Go?

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo and Rika

But, Where Did That Friendship Go?

DF103 - :yawn: I see that most of you were upset about how the last chapter ended…well got news for ya…that's how I am…you see, I could've just ended it in the last chapter and made a sequel with the whole marriage ceremony and stuff…but, I still have plans for this fic…well anywayz…in the last chapter, I forgot to mention Angel13 for helping me coordinate Rika's clothes…thing is, I suck at clothes and color coordination, and yet I still dress myself… Okay, here's Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – But, Where Did That Friendship Go?

* * *

"I'm really sorry, Ryo," Rika whispered, avoiding eye contact with Ryo, "I just can't…"

'I knew it!' Ryo yelled at himself, feeling disappointed.

They both sat there as the Ryo's digital watch beeped, signaling that is was now 10:00. Rika got up and was about to leave, until Ryo took hold of her arm. He was about to say something, but Rika interrupted.

"It's okay, Ryo, you don't have to walk me home," Rika said, sniffing, reading Ryo's exact thought.

"Well, let me at least get you a taxi," Ryo said, running onto the side of the street to catch a cab.

Ryo waved his hands in the air, trying to signal one the taxi cars. It took a few seconds before a car actually pulled up at their feet. Ryo politely opened the door and gave the driver money.

"Whatever's left of that," Ryo said, pointing to the money, "keep it. Just make sure you get her home safe." He turned to his right, took a step back and looked at Rika.

"Thanks for the night, Ryo," Rika said, getting into the car, with a weak smile on her face.

"No problem," Ryo said, trying very hard to smile, but couldn't do so.

Ryo closed the door and the car was off into the direction of Rika's house. Left in a bereft state, Ryo sat on a nearby bench and attempted to straighten his thoughts out.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot!" Ryo said, aloud to himself.

Ryo looked at the box and stuffed it back into his pocket.

"I'm gonna have to return this to, Henry," Ryo said, still sitting there, letting out a big sigh.

In the midst of some trees, Renamon watched the whole scene, right before her eyes. She was stunned on why Rika didn't accept the ring. She disappeared and made her way to Jeri.

At Rika's house…

Jeri shut the door of Richard's temporary room. Richard fell asleep, moments ago from a story Jeri had told him. This was when Renamon arrived, scaring Jeri.

"Rika said no," Renamon whispered.

"You're kidding, right?" Jeri said, in doubt.

"No," Renamon said.

"Darn it," Jeri said, shaking her head, and taking out her cell, dialing Henry's number.

Jeri waited as the phone pulsed, over and over again, until an automated voice of Henry came on.

"Hey, it's Henry. Leave a message," the voice said, followed by a beep.

"Henry, the plan didn't work!" Jeri said, yelling into the phone, but soft enough so Richard wouldn't wake up. She hung up and looked at Renamon.

With Rika…

Rika gazed outside the window, watching all the couples in their cars, at each stop. She inadvertantly sighed into the window, fogging it up.

"So you had to let him go again, huh?" the driver said.

"Yeah," Rika said, absent-mindedly, "Wait, how'd you know?"

The person turned around and looked at Rika. In the dark, Rika couldn't see the person's face, but with a snap of the finger, the lights in the car came on. The face was clearly shown now. Rika saw a very familiar face.

"Suzie?" Rika asked.

"Yup, the angels made us come back down to help you guys, but this time we're actual people," Suzie explained.

"What do you mean help?" Rika asked, confused.

"Rika, Rika, Rika…" Mako said, from the passenger seat, "person who wants to love, but doesn't want to be hurt."

"That's not true," Rika retorted, as the car started to move.

"Sure it is," Suzie said, "he asked you to marry him and you say no, when you love him. It's obvious, Rika. Look at the bigger picture, you both love each other."

Rika was left in silence.

Back to Ryo…

Ryo still sat on the bench, thinking.

'Was it wrong?' Ryo thought.

"You know she loves you," a voice said, from behind Ryo.

"Who are you?" Ryo asked, turning around.

"Remember me?" Ai asked, smiling.

Ryo looked frightened by the sight of Ai, because she was supposed to be dead, right?

"Y-yo-you're s-supposed to be dead," Ryo stuttered, as he got up and backed away.

"Oh, long story," Ai said, sitting down on the bench, "come on, have a seat, and let's talk about it."

Ryo inched towards her, and finally sat down.

Back to the taxi…

"Here we are," Suzie said, as they drove up to Rika's gate.

"Thanks for the ride," Rika said.

"No problem. Just do a favor for us and do the right thing with Ryo, or we can never rest in peace, okay?" Suzie said.

"See ya, Rika," Mako said, waving.

Rika got out and shut the door. They drove off as Rika waved them goodbye and walked towards the door. Before Rika reached for the doorknob, Jeri burst out of the door and jumped on Rika. "We need to talk...NOW," Jeri urged, grabbing Rika by the arm and dragging her into the house.

At the coffee shop…

Henry looked at his watch, and saw what time it is.

"10:10!" Henry said, "they should be done by now. Jeri should've called me by now."

"Umm, Henry? You turned your cell phone off, remember?" Melanie said, pointing to the phone.

"Oh yeah," he said, reaching for it.

While all this went on, Suzie and Mako walked into the same coffee shop. Henry took a quick glace at who just walked in and turned around completely to see who it was again. Henry's mouth dropped, as they walked up towards him.

"Hey Henry," Suzie said.

"…" Henry was still shocked.

"Who's this Henry?" Melanie asked.

"I'm his girlfriend…not!" Suzie said, laughing her head off, at her own remark.

Melanie only heard the 'girlfriend' part. She glowered at Henry in contempt, and shook her head.

"You have a girlfriend?" Melanie asked, "wait, don't answer that, because based on the look you have on right now, she probably is."

"That's not true. She's my dead sister," Henry said, with a serious look on his face.

"Oh yeah, like I'm supposed to believe that _she_ is your dead sister," Melanie said, "You know, just when I was starting to like you…"

Melanie was so mad, she left the shop. The other people in the shop went back to what they were doing. Henry on the other hand couldn't get his eyes off Suzie and Mako.

"I thought you two were…" Henry started, but was stopped by Suzie.

"We were brought back for a mission," Suzie whispered, "I'll explain later. For now, listen to the message, Jeri left you on your cell."

Henry took out his cell and dialed his password to listen to his messages. After hearing what Jeri said, his eyes widened.

"I have to go see Ryo, now!" Henry said, heading for the door.

"Oh, no you don't," Suzie said, grabbing Henry's shirt.

"Why not?" Henry asked.

"Because Ai is talking to him already," Mako explained.

"Go help Rika. She's probably more confused than Ryo right now, don't you think? I'm mean you are like a brother to her," Suzie added.

"That's true," Henry said, making his way towards the door again.

"You need a ride?" Suzie asked.

"No, I'm fine," Henry said, walking out the door.

Henry began to get tired on his walk to Rika's house.

"Maybe I should have gotten a ride," Henry said, to himself, as his eyes became heavier and heavier.

He got into the neighborhood where Rika's house resided. Unfortunately for Henry, it was pretty dark and he was pretty sleepy, that he accidentally went in through the wrong gates. Henry knocked on the door and yawned. When the door opened, Henry didn't see an auburn haired girl as he expected. Instead he saw an averagely tall girl, about his age, with dark colored eyes and dark colored hair, with only her blonde highlights reflecting in the dim-lit streets.

"Hi, may I help you?" the girl asked, politely.

"Umm, I think I got the wrong door," Henry said, with a quizzical look on his face.

"Maybe you did," she said, giggling at Henry's look, 'he kinda looks cute like that.'

"Well, since I'm here. I'm Henry Wong," Henry said, holding his hand out, 'I gotta be careful where I walk from now on.'

"I'm Amber Kamisaka," Amber said, shaking Henry's hand, 'he's polite, too."

"So, you new around here? I mean because I've never seen you around before," Henry said, rubbing the back of his head, with a smile. 'She's attractive,' he thought, looking at her from head to toe.

"I guess you could say that. I've been here for about a couple of weeks, you know, to settle down and everything," Amber said, looking at Henry with a smile.

"That's cool," Henry said, looking at his watch, "darn, it's late. I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I have to go help someone now." He was walking towards the gate.

"Okay," Amber said, waving and about to go inside, until Henry came back again.

"Wait, are you good at helping people solve their problems?" Henry asked.

"Sure, I guess," Amber said, widening the door again, "Why?"

"I'll explain later. Can you come with me, please?" Henry said, with a convincing smile.

"Well, I've got nothing else to do, so I guess I can come," Amber replied, smiling at the sight of Henry's smile, 'he's so much like a little kid, but so mature at the same time.'

Amber got her coat and they walked down to Rika's house.

Rika's place…

From the door, you could hear a couple of people discussing something.

"These two people that I know, love each other, but they don't want each other to know, so my friends and I are trying to set them up," Henry explained, to Amber, and knocking on the door.

"Aw, that's so romantic," Amber said, 'What a sweet guy, who helps his friends out.'

"Yeah, isn't it?" Henry said. 'Man, with her looks and personality, she's probably already taken.'

The door opened, revealing two people.

"It's about time you got here, Henry," Jeri said.

"Why'd you call him here?" Rika asked, "he was probably busy with work. Jeri, why are you making the biggest deal out of this!"

"Because, he has the right to know," Jeri said, winking a hint at Henry. "And, it is a big deal because...because it's destiny."

"Um, yeah, and I brought a friend," Henry said, gesturing to the person next to him, "this is Amber."

"So she's the one you were at the coffee shop with," Jeri said, with a sly look.

"No, the person I was at the shop with, left me cause she thought I was a psycho," Henry said.

"I'm confused," Amber said.

"Me too," Rika said.

"Let us in, and I'll explain," Henry said.

They all went inside as Henry began to explain what happened.

With Ryo…

"It's just how some girls are, they just don't want to get hurt in relationships," Ai said, reassuring Ryo.

"I hope you're right," Ryo said, with a heavy sigh.

"You feel any better?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Ryo said, smiling. 'Rika, just give me chance and I'll promise you that I'll never do anything to hurt you,' Ryo thought, looking at the stars with another big sigh.

Ryo stood up and looked at Ai.

"Thanks for the talk, but you still never told me why you came back," Ryo said.

"Suzie, Mako, and I are here on a mission. That's all I can tell you. The rest, you'll have to find out for yourself," Ai said, also standing up.

"Suzie? Mako?" Ryo asked, as Ai nodded, "well, good to see you again, and maybe I'll see the others, too."

"Yeah, maybe. I gotta run, so see ya later," Ai said, running off.

Ryo walked towards his apartment also, feeling forlorn and bushed.

Rika's house…

Everyone sat at the kitchen table and let Henry explain why Melanie took off.

"…and that's why she thinks I'm crazy," Henry explained, looking at the weird looks everyone had on their faces, except Rika.

"So, you saw Suzie and Mako, who are dead, am I right?" Jeri asked, with a 'I think you're crazy' look.

"Yes, I swear," Henry said, "look, if you don't believe me…"

"That's so weird," Amber said, with an astonished look on her face.

"It's true. I've seen her around, too," Rika confessed.

"So that makes two of you," Jeri said, "Well I guess this is one of those things where you have to see it to believe it."

"Well forget it. Lets change the subject," Henry said, looking at Jeri.

"Relationships," Jeri said, looking at Rika, "are the hardest things to keep, but the most priceless and precious things you can have, if it turns out right."

"Yeah, so?" Rika said, trying to stay calm.

"Jeri told me that you didn't accept the proposal," Henry said, giving Rika a look.

"Uh, well yeah," Rika said, holding her head down.

"There has to be a reason why you didn't accept, right?" Amber asked, stifling a yawn.

Rika only shook her head, as everyone let out a heavy sigh. Rika sat there like a suspect being questioned about a crime; keeping her cool and staying quiet. A few moments of silence past, until Rika spoke up again.

"Okay, okay," Rika said, "the commitment and everything."

"So, you still love him?" Jeri asked, with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I guess," Rika said, giving a weak smile.

"Now we're getting somewhere," Henry said, looking over at Amber, who was sound asleep, in the chair.

Henry tapped her on her shoulder, but she didn't wake up. He shook her gently and, but still didn't wake up. She only moved a little, but was still asleep.

"Hey Rika, is it okay if we spend the night here? I don't want to leave her since I brought her here, you know," Henry whispered.

"Yeah me too?" Jeri asked, "it's getting pretty late."

"Yeah, sure. You and Amber can stay in my mom's old bedroom and you can decide who gets the bed and who gets the sofa," Rika said, then turning to Jeri, "and you can stay in my room if you want."

"Thanks Rika," Jeri said, smiling, "we'll continue this talk tomorrow."

"Thanks," Henry said, looking back at Amber.

He moved the chair and picked Amber up to take her to the bedroom. With every step Henry took, her arms and legs would dangle out of his arms.

'She must be a deep sleeper,' Henry thought, looking down at her, 'She's cute when she's asleep, too.'

He walked into the room, not even bothering to turn the light on because he was afraid of waking Amber up, and gently set her on top of the full-sized bed, and draping a blanket over her. She stirred a little, but was still sound asleep. Henry took one last glance at her before he walked up to the sofa to sleep, also. He was exhausted from the work he's done.

Soon after that, all the lights in the house were out and everyone was in a deep slumber.

And what's with Ryo?

Outside the apartment on a nearby curb, the van still sat there with Kazu and Kenta still in it, sleeping. From there, a taxi car filled with three people, namely Suzie, Mako and Ai, sat there listening and watching the radio transmission and monitor from Ryo's bedroom.

"Wish today would've been better, but tomorrow's another new day, I guess," Ryo said to himself, walking over to his bed. He picked up a framed picture and looked at it.

"Those were the good days," he said, setting the picture of the young tamers back down.

Ryo sat on his bed and reached into his jacket pocket. He took out the small box and set it on the table. He, then, slipped into bed and looked at his clock, which read 10:59.

"Well, I probably ruined the only friendly acquaintance I had with Rika." Ryo said, turning the lights out. "It's gonna be just like a week ago. Lonesome, heartbroken me."

He stared at the dark ceiling, pondering over dark thoughts, as he made an effort to sleep.

"Aw, poor guy," Mako said, turning the equipment off.

"I have an idea," Suzie said, "on how to get them together, but we'll need all the help we can get."

* * *

DF103 – there's another chapter for all you good (and bad) people out there…yesh yesh…and to make one note…or two…wait, three…this chapter was inspired by the song "Don't You See" from the DragonBall GT…and I almost forgot the disclaimer…**I dun own digimon and I dun own Amber, but I own Richard and now-the-POed Melanie**…cya next chapter…and please review…till then…PEACE…… 


	9. Is It Carried Over Into the Next Morning...

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo and Rika

Is It Carried Over Into the Next Morning?

In the book "To Kill A Mockingbird," Scout Finch is the narrator and the main character. She is a jubilant, 6 year old girl, who loves to be around her older brother Jem Finch. In the movie, he is played as an adorable 12 year old boy who looks out for Scout, whereas in the book— :looks at title of page: ehh…oops…wrong file…hahahahah…btw…"To Kill A Mockingbird" is a really good book…anywayz…I dun own digimon or Amber who belongs to Amber…I only own Richard and Melanie…btw…Amber a.k.a. HenryLovr07 gave me some ideas on the fics…so…yeah…so on with the fic…Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo and Rika – Is It Carried Over Into the Next Morning?

* * *

On the cruise ship…

Yamaki and Riley were sound asleep in their cabin bed. The sun had already risen as the ship moved onwards in the clear blue sea. The two of them stirred when the noise of people were heard from the hallway. Riley was the first to get up, sitting up and stretching her arms.

"Hey, sleepyhead, wake up," Riley said, smiling.

"5 more minutes," Yamaki said, sleepily, moving onto his side.

"Okay, I didn't want to do this, but…" Riley started, as she grabbed his cheeks and pulled on them.

"Okay, okay. I'm up," Yamaki managed to get out, before Riley let go, with a large smile on her face.

"That's what I thought. Now how about we get some breakfast, huh?" Riley said, patting Yamaki's head.

"Sounds good to me," Yamaki said, getting up and smiling at Riley.

At Rika's house…

Rika woke up to the sound of Jeri, snoring.

"Sheesh, I never knew you snore that loud, Jeri," Rika said, to Jeri, who was still sleeping.

Rika walked out of her room and went out towards the backyard.

"Maybe, I was a little too harsh on the answer I gave Ryo," Rika said, softly to herself.

She watched the sun rise, once again thinking about Ryo.

Back inside the house, Richard was waking up. Not knowing about anything that went on from the night before, he peeked into Rika's room to see if she was awake so he can ask her how the date was and what happened. Unfortunately for him, all he saw was Jeri, about to wake up. He ran off and looked in every room until he stumbled across the room where Henry and Amber were staying in.

"Henry?" Richard whispered, "and who's that?"

Richard wandered into the room and climbed on the bed to see who the person was.

'It's not Jeri and I know it's not Alice,' Richard thought, looking at her hair color.

Amber moved a little, making Richard think she was going to wake up. He jumped off the bed and hid behind the curtain. Moving the curtain didn't seem like a good idea because the bright sun shined it's light into the room, waking Henry and Amber up.

"Bright light!" Henry said, falling off the sofa with a soft 'thud' that made Richard peek out from the drape.

"Am I seeing things or do I see a kid there?" Amber asked, sitting up and looking towards the window.

Henry looked over at the window and widened his eyes.

"Richard?" Henry asked, not sure if it were really him or not.

"Yes, Mr. Wong?" Richard said, coming out from his hiding place.

"What are you doing in here?" Henry asked, his eyes squinting from the bright light.

"I was looking for Rika and then I came in here and I didn't know who she was so I came in," Richard rambled, pointing at Amber, "and then I got on the bed to see who she is and then she moved, and I got scared that I'll get yelled at."

"Oh, this is Amber," Henry said, looking at Amber, who weakly smiled at Richard, "and don't come into a room when someone is sleeping, you understand?"

"Yes sir," Richard said, staring at the floor.

"Aw, you don't have to be so harsh, Henry," Amber said, with a smile on her face.

"You're right, I'm sorry, Richard," Henry said, walking over to the little boy.

Richard's face lit up and hugged Henry. Then he ran out the door to look for Rika again.

"Cute kid," Amber said, getting out of the bed and fixing it up, "is he yours?"

"Oh no. He's my boss's son. I'm just a single guy, with a job that has to do with computers," Henry said, smiling at Amber.

'I thought he would've been married by now,' Amber thought, sitting on the bed, watching Henry, "Oh, you work with computers?" Amber asked.

"Yeah. What do you work with?" Henry said.

"I sing. I'm not famous, but I've got a recording contract with Arista."

"Really?" Henry asked. It didn't surprise him that she would have a good voice.

"Yeah." Amber said.

"Can you sing something for me?" Henry asked.

"Oh, no." Amber blushed. "That's why I'm not famous. I'm kinda shy."

"Oh, okay. So how are you on this lovely morning?" Henry asked, getting up and stretching.

"Just fine. I feel refreshed. Though I don't know how I got in here in the first place," Amber said, trying hard to remember.

'Uh, should I tell her?' Henry asked himself, "Well, you fell asleep and Rika let you stay here."

"Oh, well," Amber said, "help me look for your friend so I can thank her for letting me stay here for the night."

Henry nodded and they both walked out of the room. Amber stopped outside in the hallway.

"Um, do you think Rika will mind if I took a shower?" She asked.

"Umm…why not?" Henry replied.

"Okay, I'll just get back into my clothes when I'm done." She headed off in the direction that Henry had pointed to.

'Hmm….' he thought to himself. 'I wonder if she sings in the shower…' and his curiosity got the best of him as he headed off after her. He waited till she turned the water on, and a while afterwards, she did start singing. She was singing an older Mariah Carey song.

"Spread your wings and prepare to fly, for you have become a butterfly, ohhhh, fly abandonedly into the sun, if you should return to me we truly were meant to be, ohhhh, spread your wings and fly butterfly …"

'Oh, my god,' Henry thought to himself. 'She really is a good singer.' Just then, the water turned off. He stood there, thinking of what he should do. He was still thinking when Amber opened the door, wrapped in a towel. "Oh, hi," she said, and blushed.

'She knew I was listening,' Henry thought.

"Um…do you…?" Amber said.

"Um, no." Henry interrupted. "I was just…" he trailed off.

"Um…okay...I gotta go put some clothes on. I'm freezing." She turned and walked away, leaving Henry behind. He watched the water drip off the ends of her hair and run down her back, the sound of her voice still playing in his head.

Meanwhile, Richard was still looking for Rika. He kept on going in circles in the house, not familiar with the house structure yet. He ran around until he ran into Jeri who was on her way out of the kitchen.

"Oh, Richard, if you want breakfast, it's out on the table," Jeri said.

"But I'm looking for Rika," Richard said, about to run off.

"Don't worry, I'll find her. Just go ahead and eat, okay?" Jeri said, kneeling down to his height.

"Okay," Richard said, running into the kitchen.

Jeri walked to the first place she thought Rika would be; the backyard. She walked up to Rika who had her eyes closed, face looking skyward.

"Hey Rika," Jeri said, "I made breakfast."

"Oh thanks," Rika said, giving her a weak smile.

"Come on, what's past is past. Today's a new day," Jeri said, sympathetically, "Now come on, Rika, lets get some breakfast.

They both got up and walked towards the kitchen. They ran into Henry and Amber and also got them to get some food.

Ryo's place…

"Good morning, thanks for listening to 99.3 rock radio station. The weather is currently—" the clock/alarm/radio blared, before Ryo slammed his hand on it. Monodramon walked into the room, opening the drapes of the room and waking Ryo up.

"Hey wake up," Monodramon said, poking Ryo, "aren't you supposed to be working today?"

"No, I took the day off today," Ryo said, muffled by the pillow covering his mouth.

"Oh, well, shouldn't you get out of bed anyway?" Monodramon asked.

"No," Ryo said, pulling the cover over his head.

"Oh, okay," Monodramon simply said, going back into the closet to go to sleep.

The Trio…

The three angels drove up and down different roads, looking for what they were looking for.

"There's the sign!" Mako yelled out.

Suzie pulled over and read the sign that said, 'Annual dance at the West Shinjuku Civic Center. Free for children under 10 and three dollars for anyone else.'

"This is the perfect time to get Ryo and Rika back together," Ai said.

"But the dance is tonight. How are we going to get just those two together?" Mako asked.

"We're not. The whole gang is going to be there with them," Suzie said.

"Oh good idea," Mako said.

"Come on let's go get tickets," Suzie said.

Back at the house…

"Richard, it's okay," Henry said, trying to calm the boy down.

"Yeah, you have nothing to worry about, okay?" Jeri said.

"But, Ryo and…and…Rika aren't friends…anymore," Richard said, sobbing.

"Don't worry, Richard. Ryo and I are still friends," Rika said, giving a hopeful smile.

"Really?" Richard said, wiping his tears with his shirt sleeve.

"Yeah," Rika said, "now let me see that always happy face of yours."

Richard's face brightened up and smiled. Rika smiled back as she got back up on her feet.

"Rika, thanks again for letting me stay here for the night," Amber said.

"No problem. Any friend of Henry's is a friend of mine," Rika said.

"Is it okay if you watch him for today, too?" Henry asked.

"Sure. Anytime," Rika said, "Just call me and he'll be ready for ya."

"Thanks. I'll see you whenever, okay? See you. You too, Jeri and Richard," Henry said, walking out the door.

"Bye," Amber said, following Henry.

"I guess I should be going, too. I told Takato I'd help him at the bakery today," Jeri said.

"Oh okay," Rika said.

"Bye, Richard. Bye Rika," Jeri said, also walking out the door.

Rika shut the door and said, "Well, looks like it's just the two of us again."

Henry and Amber…

They reached Amber's house. They walked through the gates and walked towards the door. There they spoke.

"It's nice to meet you, again," Henry said.

"Yeah," Amber said, "even if it was almost the middle of the night."

"Heheh, yeah," Henry said, "well I have to go try to make up with Melanie. I'll see you some other time."

Amber watched Henry walk through the gate.

'I can't let someone I like go like that without him knowing how I feel about him,' Amber thought.

"Henry, wait," Amber yelled out, running towards him.

"What?" Henry said, turning around.

"I don't want you to make up with Melanie," Amber said.

"Why not?" Henry said, curious of what she had to say.

"Because," Amber started, "because I really like you and I trust you."

'She's got some nerve to tell me that,' Henry thought, smiling.

"Okay," Henry said, "I guess I'll just head over to Ryo's then. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye," Amber said.

In the van…

"Gosh, what time is it?" Kenta asked, wiping the drool off his face.

"It's 10:30?" Kenta yelled, getting up.

"Well, no wonder I have to go so bad," Kenta said, "let me out. I gotta find a bathroom."

Kenta jumped out of the van and ran into the apartment building where Melanie and Ryo lived. Kenta knocked on every door until he got to one with someone inside, Melanie to be exact.

"Umm, yes?" Melanie asked, opening the door, "wait a minute. I've seen you somewhere before."

"Oh, my partner and I tried selling you one of my company's products," Kenta said.

"Oh yeah," Melanie said, smiling.

"Um, I'm sorry, but may I use your bathroom?" Kenta asked, smiling weakly.

"Sure, be my guest," Melanie said, while Kenta ran passed her to the bathroom.

'Man, what's with all these guys coming at my door,' Melanie thought.

Thinking about this made her really angry. Particularly at Henry, who she thinks lied to her at the coffee shop the other night. All those evil thoughts went away when Kenta came back.

"I like what you did with the bathroom," Kenta complimented.

"Thank you, that's so nice of you," Melanie said, with another one of her smiles.

Kenta gazed at her while she gazed back. They stood there for a few seconds, in silence, just looking into each other's eyes.

"Um, I have to go," Kenta said, "I'll see you some other time."

Melanie just watched him leave.

With Henry…

Henry walked along the busy streets on his way to Ryo's apartment. He was about to turn, when a taxi car drove right in front of him, barely missing his feet. He was about to yell at the driver until he recognized who it was.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder why you came back to life as a taxi car driver, when you died in a car in the first place," Henry said, into the open window.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Suzie asked. "Anyways, I got you and the gang tickets for tonight's civic center dance."

"The gang and I? Exactly who is in this gang?" Henry asked.

"Let's see, you, Ryo, Rika, Jeri, Takato, Kenta, Kazu, Melanie, Amber, Alice, and Richard. Masahiko said he had to work so he can't come. And of course, we'll be there," Suzie said.

"Melanie and Amber?" Henry asked. "How'd you know about them?"

"Oh, it's the angel's intuition thing," Mako said.

"Oh really," Henry said, grinning, "then who will I end up with? Melanie or Amber?"

"That, big brother, is something you have to figure out on your own," Suzie said, handing him the tickets, "see you tonight."

The three of them drove. Henry continued onward towards Ryo's house. He walked through the hallway and walked towards the door with the large dent. He knocked on it a couple times. No answer. He knocked some more. Still no answer. Henry grabbed the door knob and found that the door was unlocked.

"Strange…I would think someone as smart as Ryo would lock the door at night," Henry thought, walking into the apartment room.

"Ryo?" Henry said, looking around.

Henry walked into Ryo's room and saw a mound covered in sheets.

"Ryo, what are you doing still sleeping?" Henry said, shaking him.

"Leave me alone," Ryo said.

"No, I wont leave you alone," Henry said, "look, if this is about Rika, don't lose hope."

Ryo sat up in bed, with his hair sticking up more than usual. He looked at Henry and was about to fall back over to sleep. Henry grabbed his pillow, as Ryo fell flat on the bed, partially hitting his head on the headboard.

"What gives?" Ryo said, in a grouchy tone, rubbing his head.

"Look, I don't know if you lost all hope, but I have tickets to tonight's dance held at the civic center. Here's a chance for you to win her back," Henry said.

Ryo just lay there, not saying anything. He grabbed his pillow and put it over his face.

"I'll leave the ticket here," Henry said, setting the ticket on the table, "if you change your mind. Hope to see you there because I'm sure, everyone else will be there."

Henry left and closed the door, letting Ryo be.

"Poor guy," Henry said, walking out into the hall way, "I hope he's okay."

Few moments later, Ryo came out of his room.

"Henry," Ryo said, walking over to him, "here."

Henry held out his hand and Ryo gave him a very familiar small box. Henry looked at Ryo.

"Give it to someone that might actually accept it," Ryo said, as his eyes watered, "it wasn't even my idea to ask her the question, so I shouldn't be saying anything, but…"

"But what, Ryo?" Henry asked.

Ryo sighed and tried to keep his composure, and said, " But, knowing that I can never have her back, hurts so much on the inside."

"Ryo," Henry said, looking at him, as little droplets of tears, fell from Ryo's eyes.

* * *

DF103 – Like some of the reviewers said…don't give up Ryo…a little OOCness…but that's okay…Will Ryo go to the dance? Will Rika change her mind? And what about Henry with his relationship issues? Find out in the next chapter…till then PEACE 


	10. Or Is It Still Where I Left It?

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Or Is It Still Where I Left It?

DF103 – sorry for the delay…school and stuff…yup…well another chapter for all you people…comin' at ya…thanks for the reviews, all you dudes and dudettes…yup yup…

dead/morbid DF103 – starting to get towards that 100 spot…

immature DF103 – I'm so excited jumps up and down yup yup!

lovesick DF103 – -.-;;

boring DF103 – uh…none of us own digimon, or Amber...only uh…:grabs list our brain, Richard, and Melanie…yeah…

immature DF103 – so on with Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – Or is it Still Where I Left It? inspired by Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You".

* * *

Henry looked at the box and shook his head.

"No, you keep it. You never know when the time might come," Henry said, handing it back to Ryo.

"No, it's okay," Ryo said, pushing Henry's hand back.

"You sure?" Henry asked, with a concerned look appear on his face.

Ryo only nodded before walking into his room.

"Ryo," Henry said, as Ryo looked at him with his tear-stricken face. "Are you coming tonight?"

"I don't know," Ryo said, turning around and closing the door.

'I hope you do, Ryo. I hope you do,' Henry thought, stepping outside, then looked over at a familiar van.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot about them!" Henry yelled out, running over to the van.

He opened the van door and saw Kenta and Kazu, playing go fish. The two of them glanced at Henry and looked back at their cards.

"Hey, Henry," Kenta said, as he grabbed a card from the deck, "what's up?"

"You guys actually stayed here for the whole night?" Henry asked, surprised to see they were enjoying they're time in the van. Nothing in the van seemed to have changed except, it was a disaster area.

"Um, yeah. I think it's more exciting like old times, don't you think so?" Kazu said, looking through his cards. "Do you have a 9?"

"Okay…" Henry said, with a weird 'I think you're crazy' look, then remembering about the tickets.

"Aw, man," Kenta said, throwing Kazu the card.

"Um, do you guys want to go to a dance with all the others?" Henry asked, watching the two play their game.

"Sure, when?" Kenta asked, looking through his cards.

"Tonight," Henry answered, holding up two tickets.

"Cool, the annual dance. I'm definitely there," Kazu said, taking a ticket.

"Me, too," Kenta replied, taking the other ticket.

'Maybe I'll give away Melanie's ticket. She's probably still mad at me anyways,' Henry thought, 'she'd probably decline my invite.' "You guys have anyone you want to invite? I have an extra ticket."

"Oh, I have someone in mind," Kenta said.

"Cool, okay," Henry said, handing him another ticket. "I have to give out the other tickets, so I'll see you two there, okay?"

"Sure," Kazu and Kenta replied, continuing their game.

Henry walked away from the van, shaking his head, and headed for Takato's house.

'Jeri's probably there, too,' Henry thought, walking up to the bakery.

He walked in the building, only to see no one at the counter. He walked around and looked at the variety of bread, savoring the smell of the freshness. Takato and Jeri walked in and yelled out a happy, "Hello," making Henry jump.

"Did you guys have to scare me like that?" Henry asked, turning around.

"Of course," Jeri said, gleefully.

"So what brings you here to our humble bakery?" Takato asked, smiling and wrapping his arm around Jeri's waist.

'Is it just me or is everyone acting uncanny today? Everyone seems to be out-of-place,' Henry thought.

"I got tickets…" Henry started.

"OoOo! I love tickets. Tickets to what?" Jeri asked, excitedly.

"I think he was getting to that," Takato said, with another one of his smiles.

"Eh, yeah. I got tickets to the annual dance," Henry said, as he put the two tickets on the counter. "Everyone else should be coming, too, hopefully."

"Ryo and Rika, too?" Takato asked.

"I'm not sure. I didn't get around to asking Rika yet, and Ryo's not sure if he's coming," Henry explained.

"Is Ryo even okay?" Takato asked, with a more serious look on his face.

"I don't think so. Talk about being moody," Henry said, with a distinct sigh.

"She must've broken his already broken heart," Jeri said.

"Oh, yeah, the time when the country stopped the search for her," Henry said.

:FLASHBACK:

"Hey you guys! You gotta come listen to this!" Kazu yelled, running up to the group.

"Gosh, what's the rush, Kazu?" Suzie asked, getting up.

"Yeah, is Kenta going through his wild tantrum because he lost to you again?" Ryo asked, jokingly.

"This is no joke, Ryo. Just follow me to the hideout," Kazu said, running back to the hideout.

The 18 year old tamers (with Ryo 19 and the Suzie, Ai, and Mako 11) ran up to the old shack. As they approached, Kazu and Kenta were huddled around the radio, listening to the national news. The tamers sat down as the radio blared, what sounded like an interview.

"Okay, to recap what has happened so far, I am here with the chief of the police department, discussing on the topic of missing persons, mainly Rika Nonaka, who has turned 18 only weeks ago, if she's still alive…" blared the radio.

"But, she is still alive! I know it!" Ryo yelled out.

"Quiet! We're trying to listen," Ai complained.

"…yes, today we will be ending the search for Rika Nonaka. She's been gone for nearly 6 months now, and our chances of finding her alive are very slim and gets slimmer within each day. Of course, if we find any signs of her, we will reopen the case, but for now, its going to stay closed," the interviewee said, "with this, representing as the chief of the police department, I proclaim that Rika Nonaka is dead."

The tamers sat around the radio, shocked and in awe. What the man just said kept them thinking, losing hope for Rika's return, as seconds past.

"They can't stop looking for her," Jeri said, shutting her eyes and shaking her head, "they just cant."

Everyone sat there, staring at each other.

"What kind of bozos stop a search for a missing person, especially the daughter of a well-known model?" Ryo shouted, obviously in an upset tone. "Rika is still alive, I know it. They're just being lazy and not looking hard enough!"

"Dude, you've gotta calm down," Kazu said, trying to be calm, himself.

"And all this time, I thought she was going to be back by graduation night," Alice said, head hanging low.

Ryo couldn't help hearing all these things. He got up, and started to walk away from the group, thinking.

"Ryo, wai—," Takato yelled out, before Henry stopped him, "what gives?"

"Let him go. Losing Rika is probably upsetting him right now," Henry said.

"He's right. We all know that Ryo had a thing for Rika, so right now, I think he needs to be alone," Kazu said.

"Wow, that's probably the smartest thing you've ever said, Kazu," Alice said, smirking.

"Ha ha ha," was Kazu's only response.

:FLASHFORWARD TO GRADUATION NIGHT:

The tamers arrived at the school. The tamers' parents had already left to go save some seats in the auditorium, as they spoke to each other.

"Well, the day is finally here. You guys are finally graduating," Ryo said, placing his hands in the pocket of his pants.

"Yup, can't wait to get out of this dump," Kazu said.

"It's still a wonder to me, why you are actually gonna graduate," Mako said, laughing.

"Hey! That's not funny! Although, I can't believe it myself either," Kazu said.

Everyone ended up laughing, until one of the teachers came up to them.

"Hello everyone," the teacher said, walking past the group, stopped. "Is that you, Ryo?"

"Um, yeah," Ryo said, raising an eyebrow, "do I know you from somewhere?"

"No, you don't know me, but I surely know you," the young teacher said, as she walked over to him and the others, "I was an intern here when you attended this school."

"Uh, cool," Ryo said, with a weird look on his face.

"It's quite an honor to have you be on this particular school ground," she said, then glancing at the others, "and you 6 are an asset to the school."

"Thanks," Henry said, speaking for everyone, wearing the same look as Ryo.

"And you three," she said, looking at the younger tamers, "hope to see you in a few years here at this school."

They just smiled and nodded. The teacher was about to leave, when she turned back around and looked at the group.

"Isn't there another one of you?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, but she's gone," Takato said, "Rika Nonaka."

"Oh yes, that's right. She disappeared and never came back. I remember now. It's too bad they stopped the search a few weeks ago. I'm sorry for your loss," the teacher said, then continued walking down the hall.

"Man, why did she have to bring up Rika?" Ai said, frowning. "I miss her."

"I think we all miss her," Henry said, frowning also.

Ryo let out a heavy sigh and said, "Cheer up. You guys are graduating. Have fun and enjoy yourself," as he smiled weakly.

"I guess," Jeri said, looking at her watch. "Oh my gosh, we have to get changed!"

"Darn, I'll see you later, after the ceremony," Takato said, running down the hall as the others followed.

"Let's go find our seats," Ryo said, looking at the three younger tamers.

Later, that evening, halfway through the ceremony, the principal came up the lectern.

"At this time, I would like to recognize a few people, so if your name is called, please stand up," he said, into the microphone, "Jeri Katou…"

Jeri stood up in her school uniform as she looked around, confused.

"Kenta Kitagawa…"

Kenta looked around asking whether his name was called. Someone finally said yes and he stood up.

"Takato Matsuki…"

Takato shot up and looked over at everyone, smiling.

"Alice McCoy…"

Alice stood up, fixing her school uniform skirt.

"Kazu Shioda…"

"What I do this time?" Kazu yelled out, as he stood up, earning laughs from the audience.

"Henry Wong…"

Henry stood up, and adjusted his tie. He looked over at the others and asked in a hush tone, "What is this about?"

"and last year's graduate, Ryo Akiyama," the man said. "Ladies and gentleman, and future graduates, the group, who has risked themselves for the sake of world."

Everyone gave them a standing ovation, as if they have never been thanked before. The tamers were shocked as to this was a recognition for something they had done years ago. It was a nostalgic and emotional moment for the tamers and all the more when the man spoke again.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid to say that Rika Nonaka, another person of this group, was never able to make it here tonight, as all of you may have heard on the news," the man said, "so with the loss, a group of students have made a tribute to Rika Nonaka and these wonderful people who have saved West Shinjuku."

Everyone on stagefiled off, as a large, white screenslowly scrolled down from the ceiling. "I Will Remember You" started through the speakers as the song accompanied a series of pictures and silent video clips.

The first set of pictures showed pictures of the tamers when they were thirteen, secretly taken when they battled some of the minor digimon in the Real World. The pictures contained mostly of Henry, Takato, and Rika, individually.

More pictures came into view as the clips began to show pictures of them hanging out with each other. Some clips included pictures of when the tamers fought D-Reaper and others showed pictures of them in the Digital World. Ryo and the others sat there watching this as memories began to come back to them, some parts almost impossible for them to watch.

The last set of clips were pictures of the tamers, in high school, after all the destruction was over. Many of the pictures showed the tamers laughing and having fun. The digimon came into this last set also.

Jeri became teary-eyed with all the memories that have come back to her, from this set, as a another picture with Rika and Jeri in it appeared. Ryo was trying hard to keep his tears in, as more clips of Rika emerged onto the screen. He couldn't help but remember that he never told her how he felt.

The tribute was almost over as they showed many pictures of Rika, from when she was a little kid, to the day she started her senior year. Ryo couldn't help, but break out into tears. More pictures appeared, then a video clip of an interview with Rika came up. She was among her tamer friends, crowded onto a couch.The music stopped and the interview rolled on, of Rika in the beginning of the year, before her disappearance.

"So Rika, from my understanding, you were one of those kids who fought that massive red goo, right? What was it like after you knew it was defeated?"

"I was glad to know that we have done something good for everyone, even though I may have never showed it."

"When you look back at what had happened, what do you think was the most significant thing that has come out of this?"

"Well, this is obviously a no-brainer. Throughout the whole D-Reaper experience, I think the most significant thing that has come out of it is my friends. If none of the D-Reaper stuff happened, I wouldn't have met the great friends I have now." Rika laughed, and all the tamers in the clip joined her.

The song resumed as the last few pictures flashed across the screen.

As the song ended, the video tribute ended with three final pictures. The first one of Rika and on the bottom it said, "Rika Nonaka 1986 – 2003." The second one of the tamers after they beat D-Reaper. And the third one of the tamers grouped together in a silly picture on the last day of their junior year.

:FLASHBACK END:

"Well, I hope he comes, so those two can be friends again, or something more," Jeri said.

"So are you guys coming?" Henry asked.

"Of course we are," Takato said, "since when did we not go to a dance?"

"Hmm…I'll have to think on that," Henry said, laughing, "I'll see you guys tonight."

Henry walked out of the bakery and head towards Amber's house. On the way there, Henry took out his cell phone and dialed Alice's office number. The phone rang for a few seconds and then Alice picked up.

"Hey Alice, how's everything? That's good…I was going to ask you if you wanted to go a dance with the rest of the gang…really? Okay, I have your ticket, so um…meet me in front of the civic center at 6:00…okay…I'll see you then…bye," Henry put his phone back on his belt and continued walking. He made it to Amber's house and knocked on the door. The door opened and Henry saw Amber.

"Hey Henry, you get the wrong house again?" Amber said, smiling.

"No, actually I came here to invite you to come with me and some of my friends to the annual dance tonight," Henry said, holding out the ticket and smiling, "my treat."

"Really?" Amber asked, as Henry nodded with a smile. "You're so sweet! I would love to go with you and your friends."

"Great, I'll come pick you up at around 5:30-ish, is that okay?" Henry asked.

"That's fine. I'll be ready," Amber said, as she gladly took the ticket.

"I gotta deliver a couple more of these tickets, so I'll see you this evening," Henry said, heading out towards the gate, waving goodbye.

"Two more to go," Henry said, to himself.

Henry walked up to Rika's house and knocked on the door. The door opened and Henry's eyes met with no one. All he saw was the inside of the house. He wondered who opened the door until he remembered that Richard was staying here, too. He looked down, and saw Richard with his arms crossed.

"Henry, you didn't see me," Richard said.

"Sure I did, I was trying to see if you'd say something," Henry said, making an attempt to get Richard to smile.

"No, you didn't," Richard said, his arms still crossed.

"Okay, okay. But I have another plan to get Ryo and Rika together," Henry whispered, as he waved the tickets in Richard's face.

Richard was overjoyed and smiled again.

"I'll go get Rika," Richard said, running around the house to look for her.

Henry stepped into the house and waited for Rika to come. Richard finally came back dragging Rika along.

"Hey Henry. Richard says you have something for me," Rika said.

"Not just you, him, too," Henry said, handing Rika the ticket. "There you go."

Rika looked at the ticket and blinked.

"But, Henry, I can't go to this," Rika said.

"Aw, why not. It'll be great to be one happy group again," Henry said, "Richard wants to go, too."

"Please, Rika," Richard said.

"Alright, I'll go," Rika said, feeling defeated.

"Cool, see you there," Henry said, and then handing Richard his little kiddie ticket, "don't lose this."

Richard nodded as Henry turned around and walked out the door, yelling, "See you tonight."

Back on the cruise ship…

Yamaki and Riley were out on the deck, coming back from breakfast when Riley felt queasy. She ran towards the railing and as she threw up over the edge of the ship. Yamaki walked over to her and held her hair back.

"Are you okay?" Yamaki asked.

"I think so," was all she could manage to get out before she continued to vomit.

"Well, it's not food poisoning, because then I'd be sick, too," Yamaki said, thinking of all the possibilities of his wife being sick, "and it can't be seasickness because it's a cruise. Which only leaves one other possibility." He looked at his watch and found that it was just about 11. "Morning sickness…"

* * *

lovesick DF103 – love is in the air…

morbid/dead DF103 – shut up…you can be such a love sap…

lovesick DF103 – well you're a demonic, death-loving punk…

morbid/dead DF103 – why thank you…

immature DF103 – well…you've made it to the end of that chapter…yup yup! Please review…

boring DF103 – and flames are accepted…uh…yeah…

DF103 – I will catch you all…next chapter…


	11. In Your Heart?

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

In Your Heart?

little Richard: Hi everyone! Rika went somewhere and DF103 is out somewhere else, so I'm being watched over by all the other different DF103s.

immature DF103:pokes and aggravates morbid/dead DF103:

morbid/dead DF103: Can you stop that? It's pretty annoying…

immature DF103: No, it's fun. Yup yup!

little Richard:sneaks up on morbid/dead DF103, takes her hat, and runs:puts hat on and pretends to be morbid/dead DF103: "Can you stop that? It's pretty annoying." :falls over, laughing, along with immature DF103:

Rika:comes in and laughs: Come on, Richard. Give the hat back. :looks at morbid/dead DF103 and mouths "You better not have used bad language, or else…" then smiles: Thanks for babysitting.

little Richard:throws hat and morbid/dead DF103 catches it: Thanks for babysitting me! Bye DF103s… :leaves with Rika:

morbid/dead DF103:sighs and gets stares from readers: You people are still here? You're supposed to be reading the fic…well, while you're here…I'll do the disclaimer since everyone else is _preoccupied_ at the moment…we dun own digimon, Amber, Ashley, or the show 'American Idol'…so, scram and read the fic… :sits down: Oh yeah, this is inspired by the song "Have You Ever" by Brandy

immature DF103:sits next to morbid/dead DF103 and pokes her again:

morbid/dead DF103:slaps forehead: Great……

* * *

Alice sat in her office, at Hypnos headquarters. Since there was really nothing to do, she decided to sleep. Little did she know, the phone started ringing in her office. Being the deep sleeper she is, the phone continued ringing until the answering machine picked up. 

"You have reached Hypnos headquarters, office of Alice McCoy. She is not here at the moment, but your call maybe important, so please leave a message after the beep…"

BEEP!

"I wanna know an explanation for this, Alice. Why are you and Henry not in your offices? Unless you two are out of your offices doing your job. Anyway, I just called to tell you that Riley and I are coming back early, due to bad weather towards one of the islands we were headed to, and um, let's just say a health condition. I'll see you two there maybe tonight or tomorrow, and I expect everything to be the way it was before I left," Yamaki said, then hanging up.

To Henry and his life…

Henry trudged into his home, and glanced at the clock.

"11:30, huh?" Henry said. "At least I have some down time to relax for now."

Henry fell on to the couch, and buried his face into a cushion. He fell deep into thought of what the outcome maybe, if Rika and Ryo found out that the rest of the group was trying to get them together, the whole time.

"Man, they'd probably kill us all," Henry mumbled, through the cushion.

"Who would kill you?" Terriermmon asked, coming out of Henry's room.

"Ryo and Rika," Henry said, throwing the cushion into the air.

"Why?" Terriermon asked, rubbing his eye and dragging a light green blanket, as he walked towards Henry.

"Oh, nothing," Henry said, sighing.

"Come on, Henry, tell me." Terriermon tugged on Henry's shirt.

"Well, we're trying to get Rika and Ryo together."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? They're both hotheads!"

Henry only sighed, and buried his face into the cushion again.

"Why did I even bother asking?" Terriermon yawned and walked over to the kitchen.

He struggled to open the refrigerator, but when he was successful, he grabbed a couple of eggs and let the refrigerator door, slowly close. Attempting to hold his blanket and the eggs at the same time, he meticulously walked over to the little step stool, but still dropped an egg with a loud, noticeable 'crack.' Terriermon's face directed it's attention to the yellow blob on the tiled floor. Not wanting to clean it up, he set everything down and tip-toed back into Henry's room, before…

"Terriermon, clean it up," Henry said, still lying on the couch.

"Okay, okay."

Later, that evening…

The clock read 5:15. Henry ran around the house, looking for the right clothes to wear for the dance. Terriermon just sat on the kitchen counter watching him.

"I can't believe I overslept," Henry mumbled, grabbing some pants and walking in to his room.

"Henry, why are you running around all over the place?" Terriermon yelled, wanting to know what was going on.

"I'm going to a dance, and I have to leave in 15 minutes to pick someone up," Henry said, coming out with only a black pair of pants on. "Now where did that t-shirt go?"

"Which one?"

"The midnight blue colored one."

Terriermon pointed to the stack of folded clothes. On top was the shirt, Henry was looking for.

"Thanks, Terriermon." Henry grabbed it and put it on.

"Is that all you're gonna wear? You'll turn into an icicle if you go out there with just a t-shirt."

"You're right," Henry said, going back in his room and grabbing a black button-down shirt.

He put that on over his dark blue t-shirt and buttoned it up. He looked into the mirror and nodded to himself in satisfaction. Looking at the clock, he combed his hair.

"Gotta go," Henry said, grabbing his ticket, "don't get yourself into trouble."

Terriermon just waved, as Henry left.

At Amber's house…

Henry finally got to Amber's house. He knocked on the door and made himself look presentable. Amber opened the door. She wore jeans that lace up the leg and a "hippie shirt" with a long coat that had many hues of blue and gauzy, flowing sleeves that seemed to flare out and suede boots. She also wore earrings which were miniature dream-catchers, each with a green-blue feather hanging from it and her necklace consisted of a silver chain with a dolphin whose flippers and tail enclosed a blue marble. Her hair was draped down the side of her face, neatly brushed into place, having the full effect of the look of a hippie.

"Hey," Henry said, "you look nice."

"Thank you," Amber said, blushing.

"So you ready to go?"

"Yup." Amber stepped out, locking her door.

The two of them walked towards the civic center.

At Hypnos headquarters…

Alice woke up from her long nap. She yawned and looked at the time.

'Hmm, woke up just in time.'

She got up and stretched, scoping her office and yawning again. She sat back down and played all the messages that she got while she was "gone." She soon cam across Yamaki's message and freaked.

"Man, I just hope he comes tomorrow." Alice got up and grabbed her jacket. "But, right now, I have a dance to get ready to go to."

Alice turned the lights out and left her office to get ready for the dance.

Richard and Rika…

Rika and Richard walked down the street, nearly a few feet away from the civic center. Rika wore khaki pants with a powder blue, hooded sweater, and to match that, a pair of powder blue sneakers. Richard, on the other hand, wore khaki cargos, with a green, checked-print, button-down shirt over a white long sleeved shirt. As they approached the building, they saw Alice in a white long sleeved shirt, black pants, and black shoes to match.

"Hi Alice!" Richard yelled, running towards her.

"Hey, Richard," Alice answered kneeling down to greet his hug. "Have you been good?"

"Yup!" Richard said, gleefully.

Alice patted his head and got up. She turned to Rika, who was smirking.

"What?" Alice asked, having a strange suspicion that she won't like the answer.

"So where's your guy?" Rika asked, her smirk growing.

"Oh, be quiet," Alice said, glaring, then turning away from Rika, only to see Takato and Jeri heading towards their direction.

"HI!" Jeri yelled out.

Jeri was wearing light pink sweater set which includes a knee length skirt, a three-quarter sleeve sweater, and to match, a pair of sparkly, pink sneakers. Takato, who was with Jeri, was wearing a pair of gray pants with a white, long sleeved with a wide, red stripe going around the middle.

"Long time, no see," Takato said, smiling.

"Yeah, I know," Rika said, looking around.

Rika spotted Kazu, Kenta, Henry, and Amber. Kazu came in jeans, wearing a long sleeved, dark gray shirt with specks of charcoal as a top and black shoes. Kenta also had jeans on with a white t-shirt under a blue jean colored, button-down shirt, that was left unbuttoned, and a pair of white shoes. Henry waved to the rest of them.

"Hey you guys!" Henry said, taking out a ticket and handing it to Alice. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Alice said, looking at the person next to Henry. "Who's she?"

"This is Amber. She's with me, obviously," Henry said, flashing a smile at her. "Amber this is Takato and Alice, and you've already met Jeri, Rika, Richard, Kazu, and Kenta." He pointed to each person.

"Nice to meet ya," Amber said, smiling.

"Okay, so let's head in, shall we?" Takato said, looking at everyone.

"Sure, why not? Here comes the cavalry!" Kazu yelled out, running into the building.

"Haven't heard that in a long time," Rika said, as everyone laughed and followed Kazu.

Inside, they saw a pale-faced Kazu, Suzie, Ai, and Mako, as the music played. Suzie wore a dark pink t-shirt with the words "Angels walk among us" on the front and "I'm one of them" on the back in a light pink script. With that, she wore black pants with glitter spread throughout them, and white sneakers. Ai wore a light purple t-shirt that had "100 Angel" on it in dark purple script, a pair of glittery flare jeans and white sneakers. And, last, but not least, Mako wore jeans and a longed sleeved shirt with green sleeves and collar and the rest was gray.

Kazu spotted the group and ran up to them as the three ghostly trio followed.

"Ghosts!" Kazu wailed, hiding behind the rest of the group.

"Hey! It's not nice to say something like that to the people who got you the tickets," Mako said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah," Ai said, also crossing her arms.

Suzie on the other hand decided to go along with Kazu's comment.

"I'm going to get you, Kazu," Suzie said, walking towards him like a zombie.

"So, it is true," Jeri said, "you really did come back."

"Yup, that's right," Suzie said, regaining her composure.  
"But, but, but, they're ghosts!" Kazu said, pointing to them.

"Calm down, Kazu," Alice said, bopping him over the head. "I came here to have fun."

"Yeah, let's PAR-TAY!" Mako said. "We saved us a table."

"Cool," Henry said, about to walk over to the table, but was stopped by Alice.

"Um, can Henry and I talk in private for moment?" Alice asked to the rest of the gang.

They nodded as Henry and Alice walked away from the group.

"What's up," Henry asked, a concerned look spreading across his face.

"I got a call from Yamaki—"

"WHAT!"

"Let me finish. They might come back tonight or tomorrow. They said that there is a storm near one of the islands they were headed to, and something about a health condition or something."

"Well…let's just hope they come back tomorrow."

"Yeah, and one more thing. WHERE IS RYO?"

"How am I supposed to know."

"Well, you gave him the ticket, didn't you?"

"Yeah." As soon as that was said, a slow song started to play. The song was "Have You Ever" by Brandy.

Right then, Richard walked up to and Alice and tugged on her shirt.

"Alice, will you dance with me?"

"Sure," Alice said, laughing, and picking Richard up and walking to the dance floor.

'I guess I should ask a certain somebody to dance with me, too,' Henry thought, walking over to the table, where Kenta, Kazu, Rika, Ai, and Amber sat.

"Richard actually got Alice to dance with him!" Kazu yelled.

Henry laughed, along with everyone else as he walked over to Amber.

"Care to dance with me?" Henry asked, holding out a hand.

"Sure," Amber said, blushing and taking his hand and standing up.

The two of them walked onto the dance floor and started swaying to the beat of the music with Amber's arms around Henry's neck and Henry's hands placed on Amber's waist. Kenta declared that he was going to get some punch for the whole group and Kazu got up to look for some other people to talk to, to avoid getting hurt from Rika.

Rika watched Jeri and Takato dance, then Suzie and Mako, to Henry and Amber, and to Alice and Richard. They all seemed to have the same glint in their eyes, except Richard and Alice, that is. Her mind slowly drifted to another thought…about Ryo. She started to zone out, before Ai brought her back to reality.

"Hello? Earth to Rika," Ai said, waving her hand in Rika's face.

"Oh, sorry," Rika said, shaking her head.

"What's up? You must've been thinking hard to not hear me for like thirty seconds."

"Nothing." Rika fidgeted.

"A little bit of nothing, means a whole lot of something," Ai said, smiling.

"Well, I was hoping Ryo would be here."

"Ohh. Wait, I thought you hated him."

"Well, yeah. I used to, at least. I don't know about now."

"Well, why don't you tell him how you feel? It can't be that hard."

"I don't know."

Kazu came back to the table with two girls. One of them was Melanie who wore a tan spaghetti strap shirt, tight-fitting faded jeans that are slightly darker than her shirt, a pair of boots, and a tan colored hair band. She held a jacket in her arms, as Kazu ranted. Ashley Ojuka, the other girl with them, has blue-green eyes and blonde shoulder-length crimped hair. She wore white flares, a long sleeved light blue shirt with a light blue robe-like garment over her shirt, and a pair of glittery light blue shoes.

"I'm back," Kazu announced. "This is Melanie and this is Ashley."

"Hi," Rika and Ai said, simultaneously.

Melanie and Ashley gave a smile. Ashley sat down at the table, whereas Melanie stayed where she was, looking around to see if she could find anyone she knew.

Ai started to snicker and Rika wondered if this was the Melanie that thought Henry was crazy. That thought was answered when she saw Henry dancing with Amber.

Melanie got up and started to walk over to the dance floor, keeping her eyes on Henry, who was at the moment laughing, looking into Amber's eyes.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kazu asked, as she ignored him.

Melanie pushed some people out of the way to get to him, including Suzie and Mako.

"Hey, watch where you're walking!" Mako yelled out.

Melanie simply turned around, glared, and continued walking.

As the song ended, everyone headed for the tables, including Henry and Amber. Unfortunately for those two, they ran into Melanie.

"So, you're gonna be cheating on your other girlfriend, huh?" Melanie said.

"I didn't know you were here," Henry said.

"Of course I'm here. A person named Kenta gave me a ticket. Now, why is it that every time I see you, you are always with a different girl?" Melanie asked.

"Um," Henry started, thinking of what to say. 'Why did I give that ticket to Kenta?'

"Um, what? Answer!" Melanie demanded.

"Look, he doesn't have to do anything for you. If he doesn't want to answer, then he doesn't have to answer," Amber said, glaring.

"Well, well, well. Does Miss Hippie know that Henry is cheating on you?"

"Actually, he isn't cheating on anyone. I actually know the situation, unlike you, because you didn't take the time to listen to what he had to say."

"Well, just bug off. This is a situation I have to handle with Henry and I, alone," Melanie said.

"Too bad, I'm in the situation now, too."

Henry just watched the two argue. He made sure not to speak, so he doesn't make matters worse.

"Okay, then, how can a young man like him have a dead sister, that just comes back to life?" Melanie said. "It's obvious that he's trying to hide the fact that he's already taken."

"You mean, Suzie? She is his sister, you nimrod!" Amber said.

"Prove it!" Melanie said, then smirked, knowing she's won the battle or did she?

"Go look in the obituaries," Amber said, smirking.

"Where am I going to find a newspaper?"

"I've got one," Suzie said, running up to the two, with a newspaper in hand.

"Oh, it's you," Melanie said, snatching the newspaper from her.

She looked through the pages and found the obituaries. She read it and looked back and forth from the paper to Suzie. She gasped, as her eyes widened.

"Oh, dear lord," Melanie whispered, dropping the newspaper.

"Hmm, looks like we won," Amber said, "Come on, Henry."

The two walked away as Kenta approached Melanie.

"Um, are you okay?" Kenta asked.

Melanie simply shook her head and walked back to the table. Kenta followed.

At the table, Rika, Ashley, and Ai were in a deep conversation, until Henry and Amber came.

"Oh my gosh, is that Ashley Ojuka?" Amber yelled out, looking at the back of Ashley's head.

"Um, yeah. Why?" Ashley asked, then turned around. "Amber?"

Ashley's eyes narrowed and so did Amber's.

"You two know each other?" Kazu asked.

They both nodded and continued shooting glares at each other.

"You…" Ashley muttered, "you took away my soon-to-be-singing career."

"Me? ME? I didn't take away your soon-to-be-singing career. Not my fault, for singing better than you," Amber said.

"You better than me? Ha. That's a joke. If you don't remember correctly, the judges bashed you with low scores. If it weren't for the viewers' votes, I would've won," Ashley said.

"Oh yeah? I couldn't help it if the judges thought I had an attitude." Amber retorted. "Besides, that's what America wanted. I do to have a better singing voice. What's even sadder is that I wasn't even trying. I didn't even expect to win."

The rest of the group just watched, looking confused and dumbfounded. Henry shook his head, trying to believe the fact that Amber just got out of a catfight with Melanie and she is now in another one. Rika stood there, hands placed over Richard's ears, so he couldn't hear anything. Richard tried hard to get out of her grasp.

"You know, if we had a rematch, I already know who would win," Amber said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, me," Ashley retorted.

"Hold up, now, what are you two arguing about?" Henry asked.

"We're _talking_ about how I kicked her ass on a show, airing in America called, 'American Idol.'" Amber said, turning back to Ashley. "Now where were we? Oh yeah. No I'm gonna win. I know it, you know it."

"Win, huh? You know, come to think of it. Maybe you will win again…IN YOUR DREAMS!" Ashley yelled.

"Why I oughta hurt you," Amber said, making a fist and throwing a punch towards her.

Ashley winced, preparing for the pain that was to come. Takato stepped in front of the two and caught Amber's flying fist.

"Okay, you guys, break it up," Takato said. "We don't want this to get seriou—"

Just then, Takato looked over and saw Ashley, just as she looked at him. As their eyes met, it seemed as if the heavens opened for a brief moment, just between the two of them, and it was most certainly, love at first sight. Takato smiled, just as Ashley smiled.

"What were you going to say, Takato?" asked Richard, removing Rika's hands from his ears.

"Um," Takato said, shaking his head, "we don't want this to get serious. That's what I was going to say."

"So, no more arguments and catfights," Henry said, looking at Amber, "okay?"

Amber nodded. Everyone sat down around the table. By now, everyone knew who each other was and was here except Ryo.

"I guess Ryo decided not come," Jeri said.

"Yeah," Takato said, looking over to Ashley, who had a confused look on her face. "I'll explain. Come with me." Takato and Ashley got up and started walking to an area out of visible and hearing range.

"Hm, wonder where they went," Jeri said.

"Maybe about the plan with Ryo and Rika," Alice whispered, into Jeri's ear.

Jeri nodded and watched Richard, bounce up and down with glee in his chair. He struggled to get out of his chair. Jeri pulled it out and Richard jumped off, running towards the door.

"Where is he going?" Henry asked.

"Oh, beats me," Suzie said, with an innocent look on her face.

Richard came back, escorting a man to the table, with his tiny hand wrapped around the man's index and middle fingers. The young man had brown hair and you could see a twinkle in his azure eyes. He wore a pair of khaki pants, a long sleeved powder blue shirt with yellow and white wide lines, going around his shirt, and a pair of dark blue sneakers.

"Look who's here," Richard said.

* * *

immature DF103:asleep, with head resting on morbid/dead DF103's lap: 

lovesick DF103: Some of these cliffhangers are sooo obvious.

boring DF103: Uh-huh.

morbid/dead DF103: Sheesh, does anyone care that I need to go, really bad.

lovesick DF103: Just go…

morbid/dead DF103: I can't 'cause if I wake immature up by getting up, when I come back, she'll annoy me again, but I really have to go. Aw, forget it. :gets up and runs for the bathroom, sending immature DF103's head to fall on the hard floor:

immature: Ouch:rubs head and looks at readers: Morbid/dead DF103 hurt me! I'm fine. :smiles: yup yup! Anywayz, lots of thanx to different people. gets list Thanks to Angel13 for coordination of outfits for Ryo, Kenta, Kazu, Takato, Henry, Mako, Richard, Jeri, Alice, Ai, Suzie, and Rika. Thanks to kori hime for coordinating Melanie's outfit. Thanks to DigiqueenTMIM for some ideas in this chapter, and for coordinating Ashley's outfit. Thanks to HenryLovr07, also, for some of the ideas in this chapter, as well as coordinating Amber's outfit. And last, but not least all the readers! At the end of this fic, all of you will be mentioned…:turns to others: Okay, I'm done saying the stuff…what do I do now?

morbid/dead DF103:walks in and glances at immature DF103: Uh-oh… :runs away:

immature DF103:chases morbid/dead DF103:

lovesick DF103: Please review…:reads a teen magazine:

boring DF103:places headphones on ears and falls asleep:

DF103:walks in with groceries: What the…? -.-;;


	12. Maybe It'll Be Found Soon Enough

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Maybe It'll Be Found Soon Enough

immature DF103:holds up sign that says "I H8 DigiFreak103": Two, four, six, eight, who don't we appreciate. It's…DF103!

lovesick DF103: Yup…it's, like, the first time you've ever told the truth, too.

immature DF103: Nuh-uh! I tell the truth all the time!

morbid/dead DF103:lies down on the couch: There's a lie…

boring DF103: Yeah. She bites, you know. :reveals bite mark on right arm: See?

immature DF103:smiles showing some teeth:

morbid/dead DF103: Right… -.-;; Anyways, it's about time DF103 decided to type this up. A little time in front of the television, encouragement from friends, and a break from school, does you some good, whenever you have writer's block. I'll just get right to the point. We don't own Digimon, Ashley, or Amber. But she, as in DF103, does own all four of us, little Ric—

immature DF103:pounces on morbid/dead DF103 and bites her: No, she doesn't!

morbid/dead DF103: AHH! Get her off me! Get her off me:runs around in hysteria:

lovesick DF103 – Like, she was going to say, us, little Richard, and Melanie. So, like, go ahead and read this chapter…inspired by Aaliyah's "Miss You" and Michelle Branch's "Here With Me"

* * *

"Hey," Kazu said, waving, "Ryo's in the house!"

Richard frantically dragged Ryo to the table.

"So you finally decided to show up, huh?" Henry said, grinning.

"Uh, yeah," Ryo answered, making eye contact with Rika and smiling.

"Hey, Ryo's here!" Takato yelled out, walking over to the group with Ashley.

"Is this the same Ryo, who you and your friends are trying to hook up with Rika?" Ashley asked, whispering to Takato.

Takato nodded, as he and Ashley walked towards the table. Jeri looked at Takato, wondering if he and Ashley had done anything she wouldn't want him to do. Jeri frowned, as Takato looked down at her.

"Takato, did you two do…anything?" Jeri asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah, we talked," Takato answered, smiling.

'Good,' Jeri thought, in relief.

'Whew, she didn't ask me about what,' Takato thought.

He sat back down in his seat, next to Ashley. Ryo grabbed a vacant seat and moved it next to Richard and Rika.

"So, who are these three young ladies?" Ryo asked, sitting down in his seat.

"This is Ashley, that's Amber, and the person next to Kenta is Melanie," Takato said, pointing to each person.

"Hello," Amber and Ashley said, while Melanie, still pondeed on the ghost incident.

"I'm so glad you came, Ryo," Richard said, reaching for his cup of punch.

Ryo's head rested on his arm as he handed Richard his cup and smiled. Ryo glanced up and looked at Rika, only to see Rika gazing back at him. Her eyes seemed blank and looked like she was deep in thought, until she shook her head and made eye contact.

"Ryo, we need to talk," Rika whispered.

"Huh? Um, okay," Ryo said, getting up.

"Where are you two going?" Jeri asked.

"None of your business," Rika said, getting up and taking Ryo's hand, dragging him off.

The others watched them leave. Little Richard looked at Henry, with a fairly large smile on his face.

"Go on. Go see what they're talking about," Henry said, watching Richard jump out of his seat.

Richard headed for the direction, where Rika and Ryo went. Henry glanced at Jeri, who seemed very happy.

"Did you see that? Rika held Ryo's hand!" Jeri exclaimed. "You think she's changed her mind about the proposal?"

"Who knows? You never know about Rika," Kazu said, leaning back in his seat.

"Well, let's just hope she is," Alice said.

Somewhere…

Ryo and Rika came to a vacant table, and sat down. Richard was at a corner where he wasn't seen by the two.

"Ryo, look, I know I've said this already, but I'm really sorry for turning you down…"

'Oh no, not this again,' Ryo thought, bracing himself for another round of Rika's discouraging answer.

"But, I was wrong in saying no, so quickly. I should've said that I'll think about it, and well, I did. It took me a while before I finally realized how much you mean to me. Well, can I change my answer to a yes?" Rika asked, letting out a very heavy sigh.

Ryo perked his head up, amazed of what came out of her mouth.

"Really? I mean, of course," Ryo said, his trademark smile returning to it's spot on his face.

Richard's face lit up, as he ran back to the others with the news.

the others…

The others were having an intense debate over what they would do if Ryo and Rika didn't come together.

"We can't think like that," Alice said, "it's just up to spontaneity."

"It's not up to spontaneity. It's up to me!" Kazu yelled, throwing his fist up into air.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Amber asked, figuring out everyone's personality within the discussion they were having. "I mean what can you possibly do that will get those two wed."

"Easy. Knowing him, he'll probably just have them meet somewhere, and have a priest there, and get them become husband and wife there, you know, against their free will," Kenta said, looking at Kazu who nodded at his explanation.

"Um, wouldn't that be a tad bit cruel?" Ashley asked. - -;;

"No!" Kazu yelled out. "I've spent half my life running away from that crazy person because she always had that one urge to hurt me!"

"That's because you bug her too much," Jeri said, straightening out the thoughts Kazu were thinking about.

Soon enough, Richard came running back to the table.

"Richard, did you hear anything?" Henry asked.

"Uh-huh," Richard said, catching his breath.

"What did they say?" Takato asked, as everyone moved in, to hear the answer.

Richard was still out of breath, when another slow song came on. Richard pointed to the dance floor. The others turned around and saw Ryo and Rika dancing on the dance floor to Miss You by Aaliyah.

Kazu and Kenta's jaws fell open as they watched the impossible, possible. Jeri turned back to Richard, with another large smile on her face.

"Does that mean she said yes?"

Richard nodded and Jeri jumped for joy. The rest smiled and watched the two dance together, for the first time.

Rika glanced over to the group and smiled, shutting her eyes. Ryo looked down at her and smiled.

"What did you look at that made you smile?" Ryo asked, hands on Rika's waist, swaying to the slow song.

"Oh, I just saw the others looking at us."

"It's so romantic," Melanie finally said, watching the two.

"I know, isn't it?" Jeri said.

"Who would've thought? Rika getting married before all of us. That's pretty freaky," Kazu said, resting his head on his arms, on the back of a chair.

"You really don't like Rika, do you?" Ashley asked.

"Nope, never did, never will," Kazu replied.

"That's a lie. You practically admired her because of winning that card tournament," Kenta said.

"Oh, be quiet…" Kazu said, his voice trailing off, "besides, that was a long time ago."

Rika gazed into Ryo's gleaming eyes, as if she hasn't seen him in a long time. Ryo gazed back at her. Rika smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, as he moved closer to her.

"Man, I've seen it all tonight," Takato said, laughing.

"No, we haven't seen them kiss. A dance, like this, isn't over till someone kisses someone," Amber said.

"What if they don't kiss," Henry asked, curious of what her answer maybe.

"I don't know, but someone has to kiss someone," Amber answered.

The ghostly trio sat, side by side, talking. While everyone talked about Ryo and Rika, these three have been talking about their own matters.

"What do you think will happen to us now? I mean, you think they'll want us back?" Mako asked.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," Suzie said.

"I want to at least stay for their wedding," Ai said, watching the two dance.

"I would, too," Suzie replied.

The chorus of the song repeated, as the song began to end. Rika looked up at Ryo, smiled once more. Ryo smiled back, leaning towards her, lips touching.

Back at the table, Henry tapped on Amber on her shoulder. Turning around, Amber saw Henry pointing to Ryo and Rika.

"They're kissing," Amber said, happily, "that's so sweet."

"I know, it is," Ashley said, agreeing with Amber.

"Well, at least you two aren't fighting anymore," Henry said.

"I guess so," Amber said, glancing back at Ashley, and smiled.

Ashley smiled back, and said, "You know, you are so much different from the last time I've seen you."

"Whatever happened before, forget it. I never really wanted to be American Idol. I did it for the experience, not the fame," Amber said.

"So, you're not a "spotlight hugger" like all those other famous people, huh," Ashley asked.

"You can say that," Amber said, laughing. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling. Friends?" Amber stuck her hand out.

"Friends," Ashley said, shaking hands with Amber.

Henry looked at the two and then looked at Rika and Ryo, heading for their way.

Ryo and Rika neared the table as a song came that reminded Ryo of how much he missed Rika when she was gone. Few moments later, Rika came to a realization with the song.The beginning of Here With Me rang through the speakers.

Ryo and Rika glanced at each other and smiled.

"You guys, pretend you don't know anything about you know what," Henry said.

The others nodded as Rika and Ryo approached, hand in hand.

"Um, Rika, you know that your hand is touching Ryo's, right?" Kenta asked, pointing to their hands.

"Oh, I know," Rika simply replied.

"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Jeri asked, feeling her forehead, for a fever.

Rika just shook her head.

"I'm fine, really," Rika answered, smirking. Ryo did the same.

"What's with the smirks?" Alice asked.

"Oh, nothing really. Just getting married," Ryo said, coolly, his smirk, growing to a large smile.

"You are?" Jeri yelled out, jumping up for joy (again).

"Hahah, calm down, Jeri," Rika said, laughing.

"You've got to invite all of us to the ceremony and stuff," Alice said.

"You can count on everyone we know," Ryo said.

"This is pure hysteria," Kazu started, "I just can't believe, Rika…Rika, is getting married before any of us."

"Just because, I'm getting married doesn't mean I still can't hurt you," Rika warned, rolling up her sleeves.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I was only joking," Kazu said, holding up his hands in defense.

"You think I'm that gullible?" Rika asked, narrowing her eyes.

"He needs to learn to shut his mouth," Takato said.

"Does he always get yelled at by her?" Ashley asked, to Takato.

"Yup, everyday, since we were thirteen," Takato answered.

"Mm, explains why he doesn't like her so much," Ashley said.

Couple of hours later, as the dance ended, people started to leave, and the cleaners came with they're mops and brooms to clean the place up. The gang stood outside the building, talking, mainly exchanging goodbyes.

"Had a great time, Henry. Thanks for inviting all of us," Takato said, speaking for everyone.

"Don't thank me, thank them," Henry said, gesturing to the three younger people.

"Hey, you're welcome. Seemed like you guys needed to get together again," Suzie said, smiling, "and it's nice meeting you three." Suzie turned to Melanie, Amber, and Ashley.

"Nice meeting you, too, though it is kinda weird to meet someone's dead sister," Ashley said.

"Yeah, but hey, there's a first time for everything," Amber replied.

Melanie just backed away, little by little.

"Um, are you okay?" Mako asked, inching towards her.

"Yeah," Melanie answered, "just fine."

"You sure," Ai said, smirking, also walking towards her.

Melanie just nodded, still moving back, until she eventually bumped into Kenta.

"Tell them to stay away," Melanie demanded, watching Ai and Mako, moving slowly towards her.

"You guys, do you mind?" Kenta asked, looking at Ai and Mako.

"Oh, you just had to ruin our fun," Mako complained.

"Well, the last time we had "fun," we died, remember?" Suzie said, reminding Mako, in a slightly angry tone.

"Not really, the truck killed us. Not the fact that we were driving around the city…" Mako said, correcting her.

"Right, just forget I even mentioned it," Suzie said.

"Well, I gotta walk these two lovely ladies home," Takato said, motioning to Jeri and Ashley.

"Okay, I'll see all of you later," Kazu said, waving.

"Watch out for Jeri. Something is going to happen," Suzie said, whispering to Henry.

"What's going to happen," Henry asked, in curiosity.

"Can't tell you. Gotta go," Suzie said, "Come on, guys."

"Fine then, don't tell me," Henry said, as the Ai and Mako, followed Suzie.

They walked off. Richard yawned watching them leave. Ryo looked down at him.

"Tired?" Ryo asked.

Richard nodded.

"Hmm, maybe I'll take him for the night," Henry said, to Rika.

"Okay. Your house is probably closer than mine," Rika said, turning to Richard. "Good night, Richard."

"Good night, Rika," Richard answered.

"You want me to walk you home?" Henry asked, turning to Amber. "The streets get pretty confusing at night."

"Sure," Amber said, "if you insist."

"Okay," Henry answered, "come on, Richard." Henry and Amber started walking.

"Bye, Rika. Bye Ryo," Richard said, running after Henry.

"Oh yeah, and are we invisible or something?" Kazu asked.

"I don't know. I'm taking Melanie home. Bye, you guys," Kenta said, walking away with Melanie.

"Hey, wait for me!" Kazu yelled running after them.

"He can be so childish sometimes," Alice said.

"You just now noticed that?" Rika asked, laughing.

"Oh, no, I knew," Alice replied, walking along the sidewalks, making her way home. "Hmm, by the way, I'll come by tomorrow for Richard's things."

"Okay," Rika replied, "See you tomorrow."

Alice simply waved, and continued walking.

"Maybe, it's about time I took you home," Ryo said.

"You don't have to, really," Rika replied.

"I want to," Ryo said.

"Okay, okay," Rika said, smiling.

"Good." Ryo laughed, linking his arms with hers.

Takato, Jeri, and Ashley…

Takato, Jeri, and Ashley had made it to Jeri's house. They stood outside her door as Takato and Jeri talked.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Jeri said.

"You too," Takato replied, giving a light peck on her cheek. "Good night."

Jeri walked inside her house, feeling a little disappointed.

'Takato usually kisses me on the lips,' she thought.

She didn't seem happy at all. Could it be because she's jealous?

Takato and Ashley wandered on the streets.

"I don't know where you live," Takato said, remembering that he had only met her at the dance.

"Oh, I'll show you," Ashley replied.

They walked for a few minutes, getting to know each other better, until they finally reached Ashley's house.

"Well, thanks for walking me home," Ashley said, standing by her door.

"No problem," Takato said, "anything for you." Takato blushed after realizing what he had said.

Ashley only laughed and said, "Good night," before walking in and closing the door.

Takato walked home, pondering over different thoughts.

With Henry, Amber, and Richard…

Richard was asleep on Henry's back, as they approached Amber's house.

"I had a great time, Henry," Amber said.

"I did, too," Henry said.

There was an awkward silence before Henry spoke again.

"Amber, remember when you said a dance wasn't complete until someone kissed someone?" Henry asked.

"Um, yeah. What abo—" Amber's lips touched Henry's before she could finish. Henry slowly pulled away, afraid he might wake Richard up.

"There's another one, just for you," Henry said, smiling, then checking to see if Richard woke up.

Amber smiled back, kissing Henry on the lips once more, before she said, "G'night," and went inside. Henry smiled, walking away, with Richard still sound asleep on his back. He made it back to his house. He fumbled with his keys before, unlocking the door. Inside he saw Terriermon, wrapped in his little blanket, sleeping in front of the TV.

"Terriermon, when are you going to learn to turn the TV off when you go to sleep?" Henry whispered, setting Richard down on the couch, and draping him with a spare blanket.

He turned everything off, and went into his room to change into his pajamas. Buttoning his shirt, he looked at his bed side table and saw the small box, containing the ring.

"Guess I should drop this off at Ryo's house tomorrow," Henry said, turning out the lights.

Melanie, Kenta, and Kazu…

Melanie let out a sigh, knowing that she finally got away from the ghosts.

"I still can't believe Rika is getting married," Kazu said.

"Well, you know that Ryo and Rika are meant to be," Kenta mentioned, as they turned the corner to the apartment complex.

"Well, I think Rika shouldn't have said "yes," so I can torture Rika, by forcing her to marry Ryo, since she _hates_ him, oh so much," Kazu said, with an evil grin.

"You have a crazy imagination," Melanie said.

"I know," Kazu said, grinning.

They approached the door to the apartment. Melanie held her hand out in front of the two young men, as they all came to a halt.

"I can take care of myself from here," Melanie said, opening the door.

"But—" Kenta started, until he was interrupted.

"It's okay, I had a great time," Melanie said, walking inside, "you have my number, so give me a call sometime. And, pleasure to meet you Kazu. Have a safe walk home."

Melanie walked inside, as Kazu and Kenta still stood there.

"Wonder what's up with her?" Kazu asked.

"Um, I don't know. I'll ask her tomorrow," Kenta said, yawning, "but, right now, I'm bushed. Gotta get some sleep."

"Me too."

To Alice…

Alice walked down the street of her home. She yawned a few times, before noticing a slow running car turning the curb onto the same street as her. The car's speed kept on decreasing as it neared Alice.

"Oh, great," Alice said to herself, trying to a make out a face in the driver's seat.

Turns out, it was Yamaki, in the driver's seat, and Riley in the passenger's seat, asleep. The window rolled open.

"Hey Alice," Yamaki called out.

"Good evening, Yamaki," Alice said, turning to face the him, "welcome back."

"Thanks. Is it possible, if you could take care of Richard for part of the day tomorrow?" Yamaki asked, solemnly. "I have to take Riley to the doctor's office tomorrow."

"Sure, as long as it's okay with you, for him to come along with me and the others for a wedding planning meeting thing," Alice said.

"That's fine, who's getting married?" Yamaki asked, curious of who the lucky pair are.

"Ryo and Rika," Alice simply answered.

"Really? Wow, didn't see that coming." A shocked look grew on his face.

"I know. So, what's up with Riley, anyway?"

"Well, nothing. I'm taking her to the doctor's office to see if she is pregnant," Yamaki replied.

"Oh…that's that certain health condition thing you were talking about," Alice said, remembering her message.

"Yup. We should be heading home. Thanks for watching Richard," Yamaki said.

"Anytime, and congratulations, if you are having another kid. Richard will be in for a treat," Alice said.

"Thank you. Walk home safely." With that, he drove off, turning another curb.

Finally, Ryo and Rika…

"…maybe an outside wedding is better. Not so traditional, and we wouldn't have to spend money on renting a place," Rika said, walking with Ryo.

"Yeah, that's a nice idea. And, it is on the romantic side," Ryo said, grinning.

"Yeah."

There was silence between the two, as they approached Rika's house. They both stopped at the door. Ryo put his hands on Rika's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"You don't know how glad I am, now that you're back," Ryo said, "you're like the world to me; I don't think I can stand losing you again."

"Ryo, I know I'm getting way off topic here, but could you cut some of the mushiness?" Rika asked, chuckling.

"Sorry, had to get it out somehow." Ryo laughed.

"Well, like I said before, I'm glad I decided to stay, and to tell you the truth, I missed you most of all, aside from my mom and grandma because I love them and they're the only family I had…" Rika's voice trailed off then whispered, "now they're gone."

"Oh Rika," Ryo said, embracing her into a hug, "it's okay, I know what it's like, losing someone you love."

"Well, what did you do about it?" A stray tear fell from Rika's eye.

"Well, it took me a while to get over my mother's death, but I knew that she'll always be with me, in my heart," Ryo started, "just as your mom and your grandma is."

Rika smiled weakly and said, "And, I have you."

"Yeah, that too," Ryo said, smiling once again and giving her light goodnight kiss on her cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye."

With that, Ryo left, walking out of wooden gates, surrounding the house.

* * *

morbid/dead DF103: Does this look infected:shows lovesick DF103 bite mark:

lovesick DF103: Like, no.

immature DF103:sits in a chair, pouting: Immature doesn't belong to anyone, but me!

morbid/dead DF103: Okay, okay. My bad…just don't bite me anymore.

immature DF103: OKAY!

lovesick DF103: The things I deal with…like, anyway. DF103 wants to, like, thank all the reviewers, DigiqueenTMIM and HenryLovr07 for any changes made within the fic, kori hime for the suggestion of using "Miss You."

boring DF103: And also thank you to anyone else we have missed…our greatest apologies to those we have accidentally forgotten.

morbid/dead DF103:wraps arm in gauze after drenching it with rubbing alcohol: Um…please review…

immature DF103: This is the DigiFreak103 Hate Club, signing off…


	13. Good Things Come With A Price

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Good Things Come With A Price

DF103: "Oh the farmer and the cowman should be friends. Oh the farmer and th—" esh…musical music…too easy to remember… :shrugs and plays on harmonica: Hmm, I've lost it all…my friends are all gone…I've finally made my fall…anywayz…I'm back…well…physically in an indirect sorta way…my brain is elsewhere…sorry for the long wait people…

immature DF103: Why did you have to come back…:pouts:

morbid/dead DF103: You know she'd come back sometime…

immature DF103:shows teeth:

morbid/dead DF103: Okay, okay…I'll be quiet…

DF103: -.-;; um…okay then…ideas starting to circulate my brain, once again…okay…I dun own Digimon, Amber, orAshley…I own myself, Richard, and Melanie…and my four counterparts, own themselves…now without further ado…here's Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – Good Things Come With A Price…inspired by "My Immortal" by Evanescence.

* * *

Rika awoke the next morning, with the drizzling rain, lightly hitting the roof and the window. She sat up in her bed asking herself if everything that occurred the night before, was a dream. She looked around the room and saw her clothes from the night before, draped over the arm of the sofa.

"I guess it wasn't a dream," Rika said to herself, looking at the clock.

Right then, Renamon materialized in front of the bed. Rika looked at her and smiled.

"Good morning, Renamon." Rika got out of her bed and stretched.

"You seem like you're in a good mood," Renamon answered, an emotionless face spread across her face.

"Hmm, not that I'm being rude or anything, but don't you always watch over me?"

"Well, I decided not to last night, so what happened?"

"Well, you remember when Henry, Amber, and Jeri came over that one night, right?" Rika asked, uncertain if Renamon was present at that occurrence.

Renamon merely nodded, as she sat down on the window sill.

"Do you remember what we were talking about?" Rika looked at Renamon's calm blue eyes.

"Yes, wasn't it something about you and Ry—" Renamon paused as she sorted out her thoughts. "You two are going to get married?"

"Mm-hmm," Rika said, opening her mouth to explain what marriage is before…

"I know what it is. Don't worry about explaining it to me," Renamon said, peeking out through the window. "Your mother and grandmother have talked about it once before."

"Really?" Rika sat on her bed. Her head drooped down, at those two forlorn words. "Was it when I was gone?"

"Yes, after your presumed death, they were saying how much they thought you would live to marry a fine young man, and how sad it was that you had to disappear like that," Renamon explained.

Rika wiped away a stray tear, off her face. She glanced at Renamon.

"Maybe I'll go visit them today. I mean, it can't be that hard to find a cemetery with the _infamous_ Rumiko Nonaka and her mother," Rika said, a weak smile slowly creeping upon her face.

"That's not a bad idea." Renamon looked at Rika.

"Better call the others and tell them that I may be a little late. Well, on second thought, Renamon, could you tell them? I have to get washed up."

"Sure." With that, Renamon disappeared.

Renamon took off and went to the closest tamer's house, which was Ryo's. The digimon took one large leap towards the balcony of Ryo's room. Once getting there, Renamon disappeared and reappeared in Ryo's bedroom.

"Ryo," Renamon said, shaking Ryo's sleeping form.

Ryo just mumbled as he turned to his side, and covering himself with his blanket.

"Ryo!" Renamon whispered loudly, shaking him more roughly.

"Mm, just give me five more minutes, dad," Ryo said, in his sleep.

Renamon sighed and looked for Monodramon, to leave a message. The closet door opened, revealing Monodramon.

"Renamon?" Monodramon looked at the other digimon, eyes still half shut.

"Monodramon, can you tell Ryo that Rika maybe late to the group meeting due to the fact that she is going to visit her mother and grandmother's grave," Renamon explained.

"Okay," was all that came out of Monodramon's mouth, as he yawned.

"Did you get anything I have said?" Renamon asked, making sure, he got the message.

"Oh? Oh, yeah…yeah," Monodramon mumbled, stifling another yawn.

'I better go tell Henry, or someone who's actually awake, just in case,' Renamon thought, leaving, without a goodbye.

Renamon jumped out the window and jumped from building to building, to Henry's house. Renamon found herself in Henry's living room, where Richard and Terriermon gazed at a ring. All Renamon could see, was the rainbow colored light reflecting off the carpet.

"What is that?" Renamon walked towards the two.

"Um, nothing?" Terriermon laughed very hesitantly, as he slowly backed away from Renamon, the ring box in his paw.

Richard and Terriermon looked at Renamon, fearfully, as she approached both of them.

"Hey, Renamon," Henry said, coming out of his room, "what brings you here?"

"Oh, Rika wanted to let you guys know that she maybe a little late to the meeting because she is paying respects to her mother and grandmother," Renamon said, turning around.

"Oh, okay," Henry said, "thanks for coming to tell me. I'll let the others know."

Renamon bowed her head as she prepared to leave.

"Renamon, tell Rika I said 'hi,'" Richard said, looking up at the yellow fox.

"Okay." Renamon jumped up into the air and disappeared.

Henry glanced at Richard and Terriermon, who with a sigh of relief, loosened their tenseness.

"Hand it over, Terriermon." Henry held out his hand waiting for the small object to be placed in his hand.

Terriermon stood up slowly and walked over to Henry. Henry kneeled down, as Terriermon placed the case on Henry's hand.

"Don't touch it again, you hear?" Henry said, assertively. "It cost a lot of money, and I need to give it to Ryo."

"Sorry Henry, it's just the pretty lights that came from it made me want to touch it," Terriermon said, twiddling his little finger-like stubs.

"And you've been in the real world for how many years now?" Henry rubbed his temples.

"Aw, come on, Henry. You know the answer to that. It's been a long time since we came back and you know that you _wuv_ me…"

Richard observed this small moment between the two. Henry smiled at the last remark. Terriermon laughed and walked off into Henry's room. Richard still sat on the floor. He looked up from the ground at Henry, and grinned.

"What?" Henry asked, feeling a little uncertain.

Richard held out the ring, and started giggling. Henry looked into the empty box.

"Terriermon!" Henry yelled out.

"I didn't do it!"

With Rika…

Rika walked through the gates of the cemetery, in the dank weather, carrying two bouquets of flowers. She looked through many of the headstone, until she came across two familiar names. "Rumiko Nonaka" and "Seiko Hata." They were right next to each other. Rika kneeled down to the two gravestones, and placed one bunch of flowers in front of her mother's and the other bunch in front of her grandmother's. She slowly traced each piece of stone with her fingers.

"I regret every time I've ever argued with you," Rika whispered, "I'm sorry, for everything."

Rika zipped up her jacket as the chilling wind blew. Then a very faint voice was heard. Rika's head perked up, hearing that faint voice. The voice grew louder as the wind settled.

"It's okay," was all it said, before the voice was no longer audible.

Rika closed her eyes to see if the voice would come back, but it never did.

'There's something about that voice.'

Another chilling wind blew across the dank place. An envelope drifted in the air, carried by the wind. This caught Rika's attention, as she got up and tried to catch it. She finally got a hold of it, after the wind settled. She read what it had on the outside. It had "To Rika" on it, in a familiar script handwriting.

"To me?" Rika asked herself, looking to see if anyone was around to drop it.

Rika opened it and took out the piece of paper. The smell of the paper reminded her of her mom's precious perfume.

"Mom," she whispered, unfolding the piece of paper, as she began to read.

_Hey hun,_

_I'm thinking you're smart enough to know who this is, but just in case you don't, it's me, your mom. You know, I was hoping that I'd see you after I died. Guess I was wrong about that. I'm just glad to know you're okay, even though you did neglect to say where you were going, but I guess that was the whole point of running off. I mean, you did do a very good job of it. Your grandmother and I have missed you dearly during those times._

The corners of Rika's mouth curled, as she continued reading the letter.

_Well, enough of that. We are so happy that you're getting married, especially to that fine young man, Ryo. I trust your judgment. You should have seen my reaction, when Ryo asked you to marry him the first time; I was very disappointed. But, when you changed your mind, I was restless. Almost made me want to go back down there and hug you._

"Ohh…mom," Rika whined, grasping the paper, holding it close to her body, "you can be so childish sometimes." She continued reading the last part of the note.

_All of us, bid you and Ryo congratulations, and that is including your father. I don't know if you have noticed yet, but his grave is right before you. He sends lots of love. He's sorry that he can't walk you down the aisle on your wedding day._

Rika looked up and saw the gravestone. She saw the name "Ron Nonaka" engraved in large letters.

_Well, that's all I really have to say and your father and grandmother have nothing more to say, though they haven't really said anything. I should end this soon so I'll leave you with one bit of advice. Don't choose a black dress. Knowing you, that's the color you were planning on getting, but black makes you look like you're going to a funeral. We'll be watching over you._

_Hugs & Kisses,_

_Mom, Dad, and Grandma_

"Oh mom," Rika said, once again, before folding the piece of paper back up and placing it back into the envelope.

Rika got up and looked at the three graves again before leaving. The rain began to hastily make it's way down to the ground, as Rika made her way to the restaurant, where she was to meet with the others.

"Hey Rika!" someone called out, from behind Rika.

Rika turned around to see a growing figure, running towards her. She squinted to get a clearer view of who it was, but the rain made it hard to see.

"I thought I would be the only one who was going to be late," the figure said, as he came closer.

Rika raised an eyebrow, as soon as she saw the distinct blue eyes and messy brown hair.

"Ryo? Is that you?" Rika asked.

"Yeah," Ryo said, stopping and to take a breath, "I kinda overslept."

"I can tell," Rika said, messing up Ryo's hair, "nice hair. How long did it take to make it look like this?" Rika continued teasing him, throughout the whole walk to the meeting place. It didn't seem to faze Ryo at all, though.

By the time they got to the eatery, their clothes were soaking wet. They walked in as some of the customers glanced at the two.

"Hello, how many of you will ther—" The hostess looked at their wet clothes.

"Um, actually, there should already be a table for us. We're with Henry Wong," Ryo explained.

"Oh, okay. Come with me," the hostess said, grabbing a couple of menus and walking the over to Henry's table.

Ryo and Rika followed as diners looked up, noticing the 'squish-squish' sound, the two made as they walked. In a distance, they saw a large table, with a many empty seats. They only saw Henry, Amber, Ashley, Alice, and Richard, sitting at the table.

"Here's your table," the hostess said, setting the menus down, "now, could I get you anything?"

"Right now, could you get us something to dry ourselves, if it's not too much trouble," Rika asked, as she crossed her arms, shivering in her wet clothes.

"Sure, and for you sir?" the lady asked, turning to look at Ryo.

"Um, same thing as her," Ryo answered.

"Okay, I'll be right back." The hostess walked off.

While Rika was looking away, Henry signaled to Ryo and threw the little box to him. Ryo caught it and set it down on the table.

"Well, two more here. Five more to go," Henry said, leaning back in his chair.

"What? We're not the only ones late?" Ryo asked.

"Nope, Takato, Jeri, and the trio aren't here yet," Ashley explained.

"Then, what about Kazu and Kenta?" Rika asked.

"They had to work," Amber said, "and as for Takato and the others, we don't know."

The lady came back with some clean, dry kitchen towels, and handed them to Ryo and Rika.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked.

"A couple of glasses of water would be fine. Thanks," Rika replied, as the lady briskly walked off.

Henry watched Ryo and Rika, dry themselves. A thought stuck out in his mind.

"Hey, Ryo, why were you late? Rika had Renamon tell me she was going to be late," Henry asked.

"Um, I overslept," Ryo answered, then turned to Rika, "and, why didn't you have Renamon tell me you were going to be late?"

"I didn't really tell her who to tell. I just told her to "tell the others," not a specific person," Rika answered.

Right then, it hit Ryo. "That's what he was trying to remember."

"Remember what?" Alice asked, crossing her arms.

"Monodramon woke me up saying that Renamon came over, but he forgot what she said," Ryo replied, "I don't know how he can forget something that simple."

"Beats me," Suzie said, walking over to the group, "sorry I'm late. It's pouring like crazy out there."

She glanced at Ryo and Rika.

"Well, I can see that I'm not the only one late," Suzie said, "you guys have fun in the rain?"

"Oh, yeah," Rika said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Suzie smiled, as she took a seat at the table. She looked to see who was there and who wasn't.

"What's with Takato and Jeri? I know they're not working today," Suzie asked.

"I don't know. They haven't called or anything," Ashley replied.

"Maybe they're out having some fun or something," Henry said, "you know, like out at the movies or just having a little time to talk. You know Jeri, once she starts some type of conversation, she can go on for a while about it."

"Or not. Jeri didn't really talk a lot on the way to her house last night. Maybe something's wrong," Ashley said, a worried look spread across her face. 'Should I tell them?'

"Well," Ryo said, finally feeling dry enough to sit down, "what could possibly happen?"

"Yeah, they have been together for a while," Rika said, sitting down next to Ryo.

With Takato and Jeri…

"What?" Jeri shouted, in anger and disbelief.

"I said I found another girl, and I made a date with her..." Takato said cautiously, to ease the blow on Jeri. "It's not like I don't love you, but I think this is the one. I just couldn't let her get away."

"You'd just better hope so, Takato Matsuki."

"I _know_ so."

"Okay…" Jeri said, uncertainly, "now could you please leave? I have some thinking to do."

"Um, sure. Are you okay? I'm really sorry, Jeri, if I hurt your feelings. We can still be friends."

"Just go," Jeri whispered, pointing towards the door, avoiding Takato's eye contact.

"Aren't you going to go meet the others?" Takato asked, before stepping out the door.

In response to his answer, the door was slammed right in front of his face. The rain fell softly as Takato trudged over to the restaurant.

"Well, that went well," Takato said to himself, placing his hands into his pockets.

Jeri sat in her chair, staring into space. The room was quiet, and nothing, but the rain, could be heard.

Doubts in his mind slowly flooded his mind as the rain pelted down to the road. 'Was it worth making her sad again?' Takato thought.

"Hey, why the long face?" a voice asked, coming from behind Takato.

"I just broke up with my girlfriend, for this other girl and—" Takato turned around to see Ai and Mako, "oh, hey guys."

"So you did break up with Jeri," Mako said, "and now you're with Ashley."

"H-how did you know?" Takato asked.

"Suzie's intuition," Ai answered, "now, come on. We're already late."

"But, what about Jeri?" Takato asked, concerned of her well-being.

"She'll be fine, now hurry up," Mako answered, rushing passed him.

Jeri sat on her bed, pondering over her loss: Takato.

"Humph. Alone once again," Jeri said to herself, her fingers tracing the cold, slick blade in her hand. "Slow death…"

She slowly brought the blade to her wrist, the point barely touching her wrist. She looked around the room once more, thinking it'd be the last time she'd see it. While doing so, she spotted an old picture; a picture of her and Takato. The picture stuck out in Jeri's mind, as she fell to the floor, crying, the small knife, still in hand.

Richard sat at the table, watching the adults talk. He tugged on Henry's shirt to get his attention.

"Henry, there's nothing to do," Richard whined.

"Well, here," Henry took out a piece of paper and a pen, and gave it to Richard, "you can draw or something."

Richard took the pen and started doodling on the piece of paper. Few minutes later, Henry felt another tug on his shirt.

"Hmm?" Henry looked over and saw Richard holding up his little doodle. Henry smiled. "What's this?"

"It's you and everyone else. See?" Richard answered, smiling at his accomplishment.

Amber looked over and saw the picture. "Hey Henry, there's you," she said, pointing to person in the picture.

"I see you, too," Henry said, pointing to the person, next to the person Amber was pointing to, "right there."

They looked at the two people, closely, and saw that they were holding hands.

"Aw, Richard. That's so sweet," Amber said, giving him a hug.

While this went on, Alice watched the two. She took a glance at the picture and smirked.

"Aw, what a happy couple," Alice said, crossing her arms, still smirking.

Henry and Amber blushed as the rest of them chuckled at their expression.

Right then, Takato, Ai, and Mako ran into the restaurant, and found the table. Suzie sat back in her chair, and crossed her arms, as she noticed that Jeri wasn't with them.

"Sorry, we're late," Takato said, out of breath.

"Where were you? We've been waiting forever!" Alice said, a bit of anger, getting the better of her.

"More importantly, where's Jeri? We thought you'd be coming with her," Amber asked.

"She…um…sorta kicked me out of her house," Takato said, hesitantly.

"What do you mean, "she kicked you out." It's not like you broke up with her or anything," Rika retorted.

"Actually, that's exactly what happened," Takato said, his head, hanging low.

"What? Why?" Ryo asked, surprised at Takato's sudden loss of interest.

"I found someone else, who I want to be with more," Takato said, softly, glancing at Ashley.

"Who?" Amber asked.

Takato gestured to Ashley. The rest of them turned around and looked at her.

"Um, hi?" Ashley said, a nervous laugh escaping from her mouth.

Richard continued drawing, completely oblivious to what's going on.

"Well, I hope Jeri's okay," Takato said, taking a seat.

"What do you mean? Did she not take the news well or something?" Rika asked.

"I don't think so. I guess that's why she kicked me out of her house," Takato answered.

"Hurry up and go over there," Suzie suddenly said, rising from her chair.

"Why? She _is_ okay, isn't she?" Ashley asked.

Suzie didn't answer. Henry got up, and put pressure on her shoulders.

"Look, if you're not telling us something, tell us now!" Henry shouted, not so loud that it would disturb anyone around them, but loud enough to frighten Suzie.

"She's gonna kill herself," Suzie said, sheepishly, wincing at the painful sensation she was feeling.

"WHAT?" was all that came out of everyone's mouths. Even the oblivious Richard heard what she said, and started to breakdown into tears.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? You and your guessing games," Henry said, overreacting, letting go of her.

"I thought Takato would convince her to come, so she wouldn't end up trying to. Bu—" Suzie tried to explain.

"But, you thought wrong," Henry said, finishing her sentence.

"I'm sorry," Suzie said.

"I'm gonna go see her," Rika said, running out the door. 'Hang in there, Jeri.'

Rika got to Jeri's house, and found that the door was left unlocked.

"Jeri?" Rika looked around the small house, for Jeri.

She walked into Jeri's bedroom and saw that Jeri was lying face down on the floor, curled into a little ball with her hands tucked under body. At the sight of this, Rika didn't know if she was still alive or not.

"Jeri," Rika said, softly tapping her over the head.

She didn't move.

"Jeri," Rika said, a little louder, tapping her back.

She still didn't move.

"Jeri!" Rika started to panic, but she didn't see any blood, so there was still hope. She shook her, trying to get her up. Jeri's head slowly moved on it's own.

"Jeri? Jeri! You're alive!" Rika said, happily.

Jeri sat up, her cheeks covered in wet and dry tears. The knife fell from her hand. Rika gasped and embraced her into a hug.

"I heard what Takato did," Rika said, pulling away from Jeri.

Jeri sat there, her hands shaking like mad.

"Jeri, you've got to calm down," Rika said, grabbing her hands, to make them quiver less.

The door was heard from a distance and then a rush of footsteps. Distant voices were heard as the group of people came closer. Jeri's hand quivered, reaching for the knife. She brought it close to her. They barged in, scaring Rika and making Jeri look up.

"Jeri, I'm so glad you're okay," Takato said, embracing her into a hug.

Jeri stayed quiet, sitting there, her eyes gaunt. Takato and the others backed away, to give her some room to breathe.

"Jeri, are you okay?" Ashley asked, sitting down next to Jeri.

Jeri grabbed the knife and threw it towards Takato, not exactly aiming. The hilt of the knife hit Takato's arm and fell to the ground.

"Jeri," Takato whispered, looking at Jeri's sad state.

Jeri brought her legs close to her body and wrapped her arms around them, beginning to cry again.

"You can get over it, Jeri," Alice assured, "and besides, you can't stay moping around forever."

"O-oh yeah? W-watch me," Jeri said, in between her sobs.

Henry stood there, thinking of any idea that might cheer Jeri up. He looked at the others with their fretful looks on their faces.

"Hey Jeri, Amber and I are going to a rave tonight," Henry paused to see Amber's reaction and smiled.

'We are?' Amber thought, excitedly.

"Maybe you could come with us, to get your mind off of things," Henry said, finishing his sentence.

Jeri's face immediately lit up. "I'd love to go with you two, since I haven't gone in a while."

'Hopefully, they're not going to same rave Ashley and I are going to. I don't think Jeri will take the news about me and Ashley too well,' Takato thought.

* * *

lovesick DF103: Sounds like some more trouble to me…

DF103: - -;; Well, there's another chapter for all you people…and I'll try to get the next chapter ASAP…

immature DF103: Humph, you don't even say thank you for watching over the fic… :crosses arms:

DF103: Oh so you don't want this lil guy:holds out a brown squirrel, with black and white stripes: Meet, RinTin…

immature DF103:gasps and runs over to touch it: It's so cute!

morbid/dead DF103: Um, that's not going to infect my other arm, is it?

DF103: No…:here hands RinTin to immature DF103: now, I want to thank all the readers…especially for being so patient in reading chapter after chapter and stuff…please review…I like to hear from the readers, whether the review is good or bad…so yeah…I'll see you in the next chapter…till then, peace… :sees "I H8 DigiFreak103" sign and looks at others, while others turn away and avoid eye contact:tears it down:


	14. Time To Party

Little Richard's Intention For Ryo & Rika

Time To Party

immature DF103:runs around: I got a squirrel. I got a squirrel. I got a squirrel.

lovesick DF103:shakes head: You and that squirrel have one thing in common.

immature DF103:stops: What is it?

morbid/dead DF103: Isn't it obvious? You both bite. :holds up wrapped arm:

immature DF103: Hey! That's not nice:prepares to pounce, but gets held back by DF103:

DF103: You got yourself a bad temper…:hands immature DF103 a bag of nuts: Here, for RinTin.

immature DF103:lightens up and runs off with RinTin:

DF103: - -;; My gosh! I can't believe I have resulted in updating once a month…that's not gonna happen anymore! Sorry for the long wait, AGAIN… anyway… :hands paper to boring DF103: you do it today. I'm tired.

boring DF103: Man. :holds up paper and clears throat: DF103 doesn't own digimon, Amber, or Ashley. She owns herself, Richard, Melanie, and, yes, she is adding, yet, another character, who will appear later in this chapter…so yeah…

RinTin: Chit chit, chit chit chit chit…

Translation: Question(s) asked through last chapter's reviews will be answered throughout this chapter…

DF103: Here's a whole chapter of Henry/Amber and Takato/Ashley (rather a lot more Henry/Amber than Takato/Ashley). And now, for Little Richard's Intention For Ryo & Rika – Time To Party…

* * *

Takato looked at Jeri, nervously, afraid that she might have another knife hidden somewhere. Jeri turned to look at him. She sneered and looked away; she felt broken as she squeezed the tears out of her eyes. 

"I'm still mad at you, Takato." Jeri crossed her arms.

Suzie picked up the knife and wondered what to do with it. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ashley and Amber, waving their hands and mouthing, "don't give it back to her." Suzie shrugged and folded the pocketknife back up, stuffing it in one of the pockets of her jacket. Ai shot a glare at Suzie. Suzie backed away, surprised at the sudden change in emotion.

"Why didn't you tell us that this might have happened? I thought you were my friend…our friend," Ai said, with an angry and sad tone, as Mako stood next to her.

"Yeah, you usually tell us everything, since you have that, oh so special intuition power," Mako said, crossing his arms.

"Hey, I didn't want you two to worry. Besides, I thought this was one of those false alarms," Suzie said, holding hands up in defense.

"And taking the risk of almost losing a friend? Who are you? And what did you do with the real Suzie?" Ai asked, her face in Suzie's.

"I know. Suzie would never do that. I-it's like you're the Grim Reaper himself, taking the lives of innocent people," Mako managed to blab out.

By now, everyone's attention was towards the three of them. They stared in awe, while the three of them gazed into each other's narrowed eyes.

"Look, she's okay now. That's all that matters!" Suzie yelled out, tired of this nonsense.

"Why is there so much fighting?" Richard asked, everyone's attention now turning to him, "I thought everyone was friends with each other."

"We are friends. What are you talking about?" Suzie answered, giving him a weak smile.

"You don't act like friends," Richard answered back.

"He's right. You don't have to be arguing. I'm okay, really," Jeri said, backing up Richard, a reassuring smile returning to her face.

"See? What I tell you?" Suzie said, happy that she's out of this mess.

Ai and Mako just shook their heads, and headed out the door.

"Where are you going?" Suzie asked, following them out the door. "Wait for me."

The three of them left, leaving the rest of the group behind. Henry looked around the room.

"Well, aside from Kazu and Kenta, I guess we could have our little meeting here, that is if Jeri doesn't mind," Henry said, looking at Jeri.

Jeri simply shook her head.

"Okay then. Since this is your wedding," Henry started, then looking towards Ryo and Rika, "you two can manage today's meeting."

Ryo and Rika just shrugged, as they began to talk about the wedding plans. Nearly half an hour later, the group get-together was over, and everyone began to leave. Rika stayed behind, to talk to Jeri.

"Hey Jeri? You know that if you ever need to talk to someone about anything, I'm there for you," Rika said, hopefully bringing Jeri back to her consensus.

"I know that…now," Jeri said, smiling.

"Good. And, besides, you don't need Takato."

"I guess." Jeri looked as if she was thinking things over again.

"Few days from now, you'll probably forget about everything."

"Well, yeah," Jeri said, in an unsure tone.

"Just promise me this. You'll have fun at the rave with Henry and Amber tonight, okay?" Rika asked.

Jeri nodded and gave Rika a hug. "I will."

Henry, Amber, and Richard…

Henry, Amber, and Richard walked down the almost-empty streets, as it drizzled. They had been walking in silence for a while before Amber spoke up.

"I don't recall you asking me to go to a rave tonight," Amber said, a small grin on her face.

"Oh, well, I thought you would want to go, so yeah," Henry answered, rubbing the back of his head, "why, are you doing something else tonight?"

"Not at all," Amber said, smiling, "I'd love to go with you."

"Whew, that's good to know," Henry said, then looked down at Richard, who seemed to shivering in the cold. "Maybe we should take you to my house before you catch a cold."

Richard nodded, as he wrapped his arms around Henry's arm.

"Do you want to come over, too?" Henry asked, making eye contact with Amber.

"Sure."

They went into Henry's house, and encountered Terriermon.

"It's about time you got h—" Terriermon said, before looking to see who was next to Henry. "Who's that?"

"This is Amber," Henry said, "she's a friend."

Terriermon looked at the two. "Oh I get it. You two are together, aren't you?"

Henry's complexion turned bright red. He grabbed Terriermon by an ear and took him into his room and shut the door. Distant shouts and helpless replies were heard, before Henry came back out with a towel. He handed the towel to Richard.

"I think that talk went well," Henry said, his arms crossed.

Amber and Richard snickered, as they saw Terriermon in the doorway, miming Henry's gestures. Henry turned around and saw Terriermon's ear peeking out from the edge of the door.

"Terriermon," Henry said.

"Momentai, Henry. Momentai. I wasn't doing anything," Terriermon said, sitting down on the nearby sofa.

'Sure you were. Just feel lucky you're not getting yelled at again,' Henry thought.

The rain started to act up again. Amber looked out the window, watching the rain hit the window.

"Maybe you could hang around here, till it settles," Henry suggested.

"Okay," Amber said, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"He really wants you to stay. He's so _lonely_ when no one else, but me, is here," Terriermon said, snickering.

"Terriermon, tact." Henry felt his anger, boiling in his blood.

"Sorry, Henry, but it is true."

"Yeah it is, Henry," Richard said, while he dried himself up.

Henry felt he was outnumbered, by all the remarks. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't worry, Henry. I have the feeling of loneliness all the time," Amber said, trying to cheer Henry up.

"Really?" Henry looked up.

"Yeah," Amber replied, looking out the window.

Seeing that the rain had nearly stopped, she got up from the chair.

"Well, I'm gonna head home," Amber said.

"Okay, I'll be at your house, say about six-ish?" Henry asked, walking over to the door.

"That's fine. I'll see you then," Amber said, walking out the door.

Henry stepped out and watched Amber leave. When he was about to go back inside, he saw Yamaki's car drive up. The car engine was turned off, as Riley stepped out of the car.

"Alice told me that you have Richard with you," Riley said, approaching.

"Oh, yeah, he's inside," Henry said, about to walk inside when Richard came running out to his mom.

"Hey, honey," Riley said, embracing him into a hug.

"I missed you, mommy," Richard said, looking at her.

"I missed you, too," Riley said, then turned to Henry. "Thank you for watching Richard, Henry."

"Anytime. By the way, how was your trip to the doctor's?" Henry asked.

Richard froze at the mention of doctor. His happy face turned into a frown, looking at Henry, then his mom.

"You went see the doctor, mommy?" Richard asked, worried of what was going on.

"Yes, but it's a good thing." Riley saw Richard's face brightened up. She kneeled down and put both of her hands on his shoulders. "You're going to have a brother or sister. You're going to be a big brother."

Silence struck between the three. Richard stood there, not wanting to move. Henry and Riley looked at each other, wondering how Richard felt about the whole situation. Then, Richard jumped up and started reiterating, "I'm gonna be a big brother."

Riley and Henry chuckled as Richard jumped up and down, overjoyed with the news.

"Come on, Richard. We have to go," Riley said, walking back to the car. "Thanks again, Henry."

Richard nimbly followed Riley, as Henry waved. Exchanging their goodbyes, Riley started up the car and drove off. Henry walked inside to find Terriermon standing on the sofa, with his stubby arms, crossed.

"You're going somewhere tonight, again?" Terriermon asked, emphasizing the word "again."

"Yeah, why?" Henry asked, "Were we supposed to do something tonight?"

"No, it's just all these dances and stuff," Terriermon said, looking up at Henry.

"What do you mean? I've only been to last night's dance, and I'm going to a rave tonight. That's not a lot," Henry said, explaining it to Terriermon, "I gotta have some fun, and live a little."

"You're starting to sound like Kazu, Henry," Terriermon said, backing away.

Henry stood there for a few seconds, thinking. "I do, don't I?" Henry laughed and walked back to his room.

Later that day…around 6-ish…

It still drizzled, as the sun started to set behind the rain clouds. Henry and Amber shared an umbrella, as they walked up to the building where loud music was heard. Away in a distance, they saw Jeri, with her umbrella overhead, walking towards them.

"Hey Jeri!" Amber shouted, waving her over.

"Hi you guys," Jeri said, "come on, let's have some fun." Jeri walked in, and Amber and Henry followed.

They passed by the bouncer, who stood at the entrance/exit, followed by a crowd of people, before they got to an empty table. The loud music blared, as many people danced all over each other.

"I'll get us drinks," Henry said, walking off through the large crowd of people.

While they waited for Henry to get back, the two girls sat down and looked the place over. The lights were very dim, with colorful flashes, pulsing to the beat of the music. The DJ bobbed his head to the rhythm, with one hand mixing the music, and the other on his headphone, to keep it from falling off. There were many people grouped together, socializing, smoking, and such, in one part of the extent, and a number of people just having the time of their lives, dancing, in the rest of the area.

"Mm, I think I'm going to just go and have some fun," Jeri said, getting up, "you coming?"

"No, I'll wait for Henry," Amber replied.

Jeri smiled and said, "Okay." Before disappearing into the crowd, she said, "You two are perfect for each other."

Henry came back and saw Amber's face, flushed a light pink.

"Um, where's Jeri?" Henry asked, setting the drinks down on the table.

"She went to go dance," Amber said, looking into Henry's slate-colored eyes.

"Oh, okay. You wanna dance, too?" Henry asked, smiling.

"Sure," Amber said, getting up and walking with him.

Jeri danced alone on the dance floor. While moving to the fast moving beat, a young man, about her age, walked towards her direction.

"Hey," he said, flashing a smile.

At first, Jeri didn't know who he was talking to until he gave her a wink. He walked up to her. Now that he was standing right in front of Jeri, she could see him much clearer. His height was a little taller than Jeri, not including his short, but distinct, mohawk, which was dyed in three shades of brown. He had two different eye colors, one deep dark blue, and the other, a demonic shade of red. She also observed that he had about five earrings in one ear and seven in the other. Jeri, then, saw a small sparkle upon the side of his nose and saw that he had a pierced nose. All that came together with his pair of dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

Although his appearance may seem bizarre, his voice was far from that. His voice sounded younger than his actual looks. It sounded very childlike; innocent and charming, yet it still had that deep manly quality.

Jeri stood there looking at him with a wry smile; she could not get her eyes off of him. He was, by far, the most unusual person she had laid her eyes on. The guy waved his hand over Jeri's face.

"You there?" he asked, laughing in the process.

"Sorry," Jeri said, shaking her head, "do I know you?"

"I don't think so, but we can start, right?" he said, holding out his hand, "my name is Jason."

"I'm Jeri," Jeri said, shaking Jason's hand, "so where did you live before you came to live here?"

"I used to live in the states. Great place," Jason said, with great enthusiasm.

"Wow, I have a couple of friends who just moved here from America," Jeri commented, smiling, "so do you come around here often?"

"Um, not as much as I used to. I used to bring my girlfriend here all the time, ever since we moved here. But, I broke up with my girlfriend a while back, so there was never really a reason to come alone." Jason rubbed his head, ruffling his hair with hand, holding a glass in the other.

Jeri's eyes saddened and her head drooped, as she was reminded of her own break-up.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Jason asked, with solemnity.

"Oh," Jeri started, looking up at him, "my boyfriend broke up with me today."

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought up that sensitive subject. Here, I'll walk you back to your table," Jason said.

"How do you know where my table is?" Jeri asked, now thinking that the guy's a stalker.

Jason stood there, thinking. Nothing was heard, for a minute or two, but the music and people's hoots.

"Actually…I don't know," Jason said, laughing at his own mistake.

A weak smile played on Jeri's face. She grabbed his arm and dragged him over to their table. She found that the table was empty.

"Hmm, wonder where they went," Jeri asked, looking around the place to find the two.

Instead of Henry and Amber, she saw Takato…with Ashley. Jeri looked very shocked. Her eyes started to glaze over. She turned back around to face Jason.

"Can you wait here? I'll be right back," Jeri said, walking off to go talk to Takato.

"Um, I didn't even know she wanted to hang out with me," Jason said to himself.

Jeri looked around the dance floor for Takato and Ashley. Jeri wanted some questions answered and she wanted to get them answered right away.

Takato and Ashley danced to the music. Takato moved closer to Ashley, brushing his lips against hers. A smile played on Ashley's face as they continued dancing to the rave's music.

Jeri spotted the two, and stormed towards them.

"Takato," Jeri said, angrily, as she tapped him on his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I…" Takato stuttered, now fully aware of Jeri's emotions.

"Is that all you can say to me now? You said we'd still be friends, Takato. Friends don't keep things from each other." Jeri paused for an answer. But, it never came.

Jeri looked over to see Ashley, who just stared back at her. Jeri just shook her head and stomped away, glancing back at the two of them every so often.

Ashley looked at Takato, confused of what just happened.

"I thought you told her that I was with you now," Ashley said, making their way to their own table.

"Actually, I didn't tell her because I didn't want to make her more upset than she was."

"But, now look at her. This is the second time she's upset. If you told her the whole situation, all at the same time, she wouldn't have to go through a second round of this." Ashley started to worry about Jeri again. "What if she tries to…you know…" Ashley looked up at Takato, waiting for an answer.

"I know she won't do it. She wouldn't try killing herself in a public place, like this. Someone, if not everyone who sees her, will try and stop her," Takato said, in a more discreet tone.

"I guess."

From a distance, Amber walked over to the table, to get a swig of her drink, parched from dancing, wildly. Jason glanced at her, and seemed to remember seeing her from somewhere.

"Um, excuse me?" Jason asked, tapping Amber's shoulder.

Amber looked at him and answered, "Yes?"

Jason saw her face and instantly he remembered where he'd seen her.

"Hey, you were on that one show…American Idol," Jason said, trying to think of her name, "umm, Amber Kamisaka, right?"

"Yeah," Amber said.

"Wow! I never thought I'd see you here in Japan," Jason said, flattered by her existence, then realized he hadn't given her his name, "oh, by the way, my name is Jason Rutherford."

"Well, nice to meet you, Jason," Amber replied.

"So, you on tour or something? Jason asked, staring into her eyes.

"Nope. I live here," Amber said, about to walk off, before he stopped her.

"You? Live here?" Jason asked, looking at her, eyes scanning over her body, from head to toe.

"Um, yeah. I didn't want to be American Idol," Amber said, "now if you'll excuse m—" Before Amber could finish, Jason smirked. "What's with the smirk?" she asked, starting to feel a wee bit uncomfortable, around him.

By this time, the rain outside could be heard, and the loud thunderclaps overpowered the sounds of the music. Soon, everything shut down, except for the emergency lights. Amber felt someone grab her arm, and nearly dragging her to wherever the person was headed. Amber struggled to turn loose from the grip, but with each tug, the grip got stronger.

"Let go of me, whoever you are," Amber said, as she struggled to get out of the person's grip.

The person wouldn't stop walking to wherever, taking Amber to a place unfamiliar to her. The place was too dark to see where anyone was going; it surprised Amber that, whoever was making her run, could see where they were going.

"Everyone, please stay put as we try to work out the power problem," a person said, through a megaphone.

'Oh yeah, whoever this person is, their staying put, all right,' Amber thought, sarcastically, as they slowed down. She also noticed that the restless people's voices seemed more distant. Where was she, and more importantly, who was she with?

The person let go of Amber. She only saw a slight silhouette of the person before her.

'It can't be Jeri,' she thought, looking at the person's height. Then she observed the person's hair and thought, 'and I know it's not Henry.' It was then that she recognized the person, by his hair.

"Jason?" Amber whispered, hoping, to some extent, that it wasn't him.

"Yeah?" Jason replied.

Amber hit Jason's arm, and put her hands to her hips.

"What was that for?" Amber asked, in an exasperated tone.

"Well, I thought you would want to just, you know, get away from all the ruckus back there," Jason explained, moving a little closer to her.

Amber gulped, as she started to back away.

The lights flickered back on, and the music started up again, in the main part of the building. Amber could now see Jason's unsettling smirk.

"You better stay back," Amber said, backing up into a corner.

"Or what?" Jason asked, stopping in place, and one hand in his pocket.

Amber was at a loss of words. Jason resumed walking towards her, until she was right in her face. He pressed her against the wall, his hands placed on her shoulders.

"Well," Amber said, hesitantly, searching for just the right words to back him off, "I sure would hate to see the headlines…you know, 'American Idol harassed by mohawk-ed freak.'"

He looked at her in disbelief.

"You just called me a freak," Jason said, as his body became limp.

"Yeah, well, normally I'm a nice girl, but I'm kinda backed into a corner right now, so I'm using what I've got."

"You don't like your public," Jason said, reading her like a book. "And, you would sooner die than appear in, or give a single word to, a newspaper; much less a tabloid like the ones that would buy your story. Besides, where's your proof?"

"Okay, so now you're admitting it. You're going to try to do something to me, right?"

Jason shrugged.

"Isn't it obvious?" Amber said, starting to back off as much as she could. "What are you doing anyway? Why are you bothering me?"

"Because you are famous. And, I like you."

"If you like me, why not leave me alone?" she said, panic creeping into her voice. "You know I've got a boyfriend, don't you? Plus, I've never seen anyone trying to win someone's affection by trying to…rape…them…" Amber said.

Jason smirked.

"You read my mind." He advanced on Amber, who automatically whipped around and began furiously banging on the door and screaming bloody murder.

"Hey! Hey, calm down…" Jason started, and took a syringe out of his pocket. It probably had a drug in it, so Amber turned around and kicked him, right where anyone would.

"OWWWW!" Jason shouted, and stuck her with the needle. "You tell anyone about this and you're good as dead." He said, before staggering out the door and shouting, "Hey! This girl was hurt! Somebody help!" Amber scowled at the image of the retreating Jason, before her vision slowly faded. The drug had started to take its effect, but Jason would not succeed with what he had planned, which was clear to Amber. She heard Henry and Jeri run into the back room from far away, and could say one small word with her voice, which was quickly retreating as well.

"Help," she moaned softly, and then she was gone.

Henry's place…

"Shhhh…you guys, it's wearing off." Henry said, as quietly as possible, as people were discussing what might have happened to Amber, the night before, at the rave. Kazu leaned over the unconscious Amber, who appeared to be waking up.

"Wake up, sweepy head…" Kazu said, in a childlike voice. Suddenly, Amber's foot flew up, as she screamed and bolted upright on Henry's couch, her foot making contact with Kazu's jaw.

"OWWWWWW!" Kazu screeched, rubbing his jaw.

"Stay away, you FREAK!" Amber exclaimed, before it could sink in that she was in Henry's living room, with everyone she had recently met, Kazu being the one she kicked.

"AMBER!" Ryo shouted, and shook her. "You are at—"

"I know where I'm at, dumbass."

"Oh. Sorry…" Ryo backed away, as Rika laughed.

"What I wanna know is, how I got here, and what happened?"

"Funny," Henry said. "We were just thinking maybe you could tell us. What did you do?"

"Me? Oh, I did it now. I see how this is. I don't think you guys are all that interested if you think I would inject myself with that shit."

"Sorry," Henry said. "But, I can't imagine anyone trying to hurt you."

Amber smiled briefly, and then scowled.

"Well, it's true. It was a guy."

"Well who? Why?" Henry asked; planning to give whomever it was a piece of his mind. Amber hesitated, and shrugged. What Jason had said found it's way back into her train of thought.

"I don't know. It was dark, and they slammed me against a wall, told me they were gonna rape me, and I kicked and screamed, and they took out the needle, and I-I…"

"Kicked him and tried to get away?"

"Yes. But you see how well that worked."

"Are you sure you couldn't see who attacked you?" Henry said, almost certain she was leaving something out.

Amber hesitated once again, contemplating on whether to tell Henry about the whole incident. She looked at everyone else, and felt uncomfortable.

"Amber," Henry said, "are you okay?"

"Um, I need to talk to Henry, alone," Amber finally said.

"Oh, so you can kiss and stuff?" Kazu asked with a grin on his face.

"Do you want to get kicked again?" Amber asked, now knowing why he gets on Rika's nerves at times.

Kazu swiftly walked out of the room, as did everyone else, but Henry.

"So, will you tell me?" Henry asked, with a concerned tone.

"Henry, I just…I can't tell you," Amber said, lowering her head.

Henry sighed, and said, "Well, I'm not going to make you tell me. But, are you sure you're okay?"

Amber nodded her head, placing her head on Henry's shoulder.

Few minutes later…

Amber and Henry walked out and saw Jason, with Jeri.

'He's with her?' Amber thought, turning around, so he doesn't see her.

"Whoa, what's the matter?" Henry asked, his hands on her shoulders.

"Oh, nothing," Amber said, putting a reassuring smile on her face.

"Okay," Henry said, then glancing at Jeri and Jason, "hey Jeri!"

'Oh great,' Amber thought, turning around, "oh, hey Jeri."

"Hey, you two!" Jeri said, her perkiness returning.

Henry looked over at Jason, and asked, "Who's this?"

"I'm Jason." He extended a hand toward Henry. "You must be Henry."

"Erm…yeah," he said, looking back at Amber, who was trying very hard to avoid eye contact.

"Hey, you over there!" Jason called out, walking toward her, to which she responded by backing away. "I'm Jason. You are...?" he winked.

"Amber." She said, through gritted teeth. As for the handshake, she narrowed her eyes and withdrew her hands from anywhere near the man's extended hand. Henry was getting suspicious.

'Why is she being so mean?' he thought, 'has she met him before, or…was he the guy? He might be, but I can't get her to tell me! But, she sure is acting nervous.'

"Come on, Jason," Henry said, guiding him into the next room, "the others are in here. You stay here Amber."

Jeri walked passed Amber, smiling. She saw Jeri's smile disappear as she saw Takato in the room. Henry and Jason soon followed. Amber only stared after them. Jason turned around and gave her another wink, and Henry swore he heard her growl.

When they got into the room where the others were waiting, Jason shook hands and introduced himself with everyone. He ran his hand through his mohawk, and Henry suddenly remembered that he had seen him before.

Last night, the power had gone out at the club. Henry and Jeri came to the table shortly after the power had come back, only to realize that Amber was gone. They headed toward a back room, where suddenly, a mohawk-ed guy burst out of the door, yelling, "Somebody help! This girl's been hurt!" Shortly afterward, they had found Amber, lying nearly unconscious on the floor.

They took her to the hospital, where they found a potent pain reliever in Amber's system, and that had been given in a large enough dose to knock out a fully-grown man. Her shirt was torn, showing signs of attempted rape.

He had never asked her if she really was raped, but he had a feeling she was not. It wasn't very possible.

All those thoughts ended, when he realized Rika's hand was waving in his face.

"You okay?" Rika asked, as Henry looked around at the others.

"Um, yeah. I was just thinking of something," Henry replied, casually to avoid talking about his thoughts on Amber's situation.

While thinking that, he was reminded that she was still left alone in the other room. He had wanted to talk to her, one-on-one, just to see if she really was okay, from what was about to be, probably, the most traumatic moment of her life. He walked away from the group, and went into the other room, only to find Amber, missing, once again.

* * *

DF103: Finally! I'm done wif another chapter! 

immature DF103: It's about time…

RinTin:nods:

DF103: Well, if it weren't for Amber, a.k.a. HenryLovr07, I wouldn't have gotten this chapter done…I mean…she wrote a great deal of the end (from where Jason gets all freakish wif Amber in the back room), and I added a smidge…anyway…thank you, thank you, thank you, for reading this fic and all the reviews…I will definitely get the next chapter up and runnin before next month…now that I have finals in 2 weeks and 3 weeks till school is out (WOOHOO!) I'll have more time for my fics…(currently working on 3 others). Anyway…thanks again to all those people, who review…

lovesick DF103: And, if you, like, don't mind…please review…

DF103: Well said, and till next chapter…peace…


	15. Dresses, Tuxedos, and Weird Stuff

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Dresses, Tuxedos, and Weird Stuff

DF103: I'm back…with another chapter! A short one, actually. Yeah…decided to write…and you know what? I'm in the mood to get some constructive comments on this story, if any (I'm sure there will be flaws, somewhere)…yup…so look hard people…hit me wif all ya got… heheh…

Well…got some interesting reviews last chapter…mm…one asked, "how many couples do I have in this fic?" 7 potential couples in this fic alone, I believe. I'm writing a-not-exactly-sequel thing to this, which might include more…yup, you read right, this fic and "Never Too Far From Home," were only the precursory fics for the fic, "It All Comes Down To This." That'll probably be out, as soon as I finish my other fics including, this fic, "Back In The Day," "Never Take a Dare Because Life's Too Short," and "Aki No Omoide." This is just a lil preview of upcoming updates and fics, for those who care.

So, I dun own Digimon, Amber Kamisaka, or Ashley Ojuka…and I own Richard, Melanie (who has been a no-show for the last 2 chapters, I believe), and Jason. head bangs to music Now, on to…Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – Dresses, Tuxedos, and Weird Stuff…

* * *

Henry scoped the room, looking for any signs of Amber. He peeked back into the other room, and saw everyone else there, including Jason. He eyed Jason, as he turned around, his red eye, gleaming in the light. Jason looked at Henry, raised his hand and waved. Henry smiled.

'Where could she be?' Henry thought to himself stepping back into the empty room.

Henry rubbed the back of his head, puzzled.

'I didn't hear the door. Everyone else is in the oth—'

"So, you didn't forget about me after all, huh?" Amber asked, making Henry jump.

"There you are," Henry said, turning around, immediately recognizing Amber's voice, "I didn't know where you went."

"Of course. That was the whole point in me hiding. That's what you get for leaving me in here," Amber said, nudging him, playfully.

"Sorry," Henry said, giving her an apologetic smile.

"Aw, I forgive you," Amber said, embracing him into a hug.

"Now, back to what I was going talk to you about," Henry started as they both sat down on the couch. "I know you don't want to tell me anything about last night. I just wanted to let you know that if you change your mind about keeping this whole situation to yourself, I'm here for you."

"Okay," Amber said, nodding her head, and resting her head on his shoulder, once again.

From a distance, between the two occupied rooms, Jason watched Amber and Henry, talking, though most of it was indistinct. He turned back around, a menacing grin spreading across his face.

"Oh, there you are, Jason," Jeri said, walking up to him, her hands wrapping around his arm.

His devilish grin turned into a normal smile. "You miss me already?" He laughed as he joined the others, and as she went over to talk to Rika.

Kenta looked at Jason as he reentered the room. His eyes, particularly his red, demonic one, sent chills down his spine. Jason turned around, facing Kenta. At that moment, Kenta froze.

"Um, hey," Kenta said, chuckling nervously, to himself.

"Hey…Kenta, right?" Jason asked, unsure about the name.

Kenta let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, you got that right," Kenta said, now gazing into the red eye.

"Whatcha looking at?" Jason asked.

Kenta only shook his head. "Nothing."

"Okay then," Jason said, as he turned around and saw Henry. "Oh hello, Henry." Jason's voice was mellow, and seemed kindhearted; Henry had a hard time believing that he could possibly be the person who, he thinks, tried to hurt Amber.

"So, is Amber okay? I mean, she seemed kinda… distant. Unless, she's always like that," Jason said, noticing in, Henry's eyes that he was starting to get suspicious.

"She's fine, now," Henry said, reassuringly. His qualms started to crumple, little by little, as he spoke those few words to him. "If it weren't for the guy who yelled out someone was hurt, I don't think Jeri or me would've found her."

"Hmm. You two are very close, as I can see," Jason said, a grin spreading across his face.

"I guess you can say that." A proud smile appeared on Henry's face.

Jeri soon came back and wrapped her arms around Jason's arm. Jason wrapped his arm free arm around Jeri.

"Hi Jeri, again," Jason said, laughing.

"Hey, Jason. I just wanted to let you know that the girls and I are going to go shopping for the dresses." Jeri said, letting go of him.

"Dresses for what?" Jason asked, with a very confused look.

"Oh! I didn't tell you?" Jeri asked, then excitedly looked around and pointed to Ryo and Rika. "Ryo and Rika are getting married!"

"I see." Jason walked up to Ryo and Rika. "I just heard. Congratulations, man," Jason shook Ryo's hand, then Rika's. Jason, then, retreated to Jeri and Henry. Ryo and Rika looked at each other for moment before they turned back around, talking to Takato and Ashley.

"Um, did you just see that?" Rika asked.

"You mean Jason? Yeah," Ashley replied, watching Jason retreat, "he's kinda freaky, don't you think?" She peered over towards Jason, once again.

Jason looked back at Ashley and the others, gave a wink, before turning his attention back to Jeri. Ryo turned to Rika.

"Are you inviting him to the ceremony?"

"I probably will, so Jeri will have someone to be with since Takato is with Ashley." Rika looked at the two before she continued. "I mean, he doesn't seem that bad. It's just the looks."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Rika. You can't judge a book by its cover, as they say back in America," Ashley answered, as Jeri walked over to them. "Hey, Jeri."

"Hiya Ashley," Jeri said, "we're still going shopping for today, right?" She looked at Ashley and Rika.

"Yeah, of course," Rika replied, "Amber's coming, too, right?"

Jeri nodded. "She says she feels fine, so she can come."

"That's great. Let's get moving now. This may take a while." 'Speaking of moving,' Rika thought, as she turned around and handed Ryo her house keys. "Maybe you can get an extra one made today, so you'll have a key to get into the house."

"Oh yes, of course, I'm moving into your house. How could I possibly forget?" Ryo said, grinning. "I'll have that done. I'll see you tonight." Ryo leaned in and kissed Rika on the lips.

Rika parted and smiled. She walked away from them with Jeri.

"I'll see you later." Takato gave Ashley a light kiss on her cheek.

"Okay," Ashley said, before following Jeri and Rika.

Henry and Jason spoke to each other, getting to know each other a lot better. Many questions seemed to pop out of Henry's head, but he left them unasked; he knew that he'd probably find out anyway.

"So, since the girls are going to go browse around to find some dresses, how about you, me, as well as the other guys go get us fitted for some tuxes?" Henry suggested.

"Um, sure. I didn't even know I was going to the ceremony," Jason said, shrugging.

"Well, between you and me, Rika is probably inviting you, so Jeri won't be lonely," Henry said, leaning in.

"Oh, I see."

Amber walked over to the two, trying very hard to avoid eye contact with Jason.

"Henry, the girls and I are going. I'll call you when I get back," Amber said, smiling. "And, Henry. Thanks."

She, then, had an indistinct frown, noticing that Jason was watching her, from her peripheral vision. She gave Henry a quick peck on the cheek, before walking out the door with the others.

"No problem," he said, to himself.

"How sweet," Jason said, as he mentally scolded himself for saying that.

Henry turned light shade of pink, before all the other guys came over to the two of them.

"So, are we gonna get our tuxedos?" Kazu asked.

"Um, yeah. Why not? I mean, the girls are out getting their stuff," Ryo said, making contact with everyone, until he saw Kenta. "Oh Kenta. Rika wanted me to get Melanie's address and number from you, so the invitations can be sent."

"Okay." Kenta searched for something to write on, as he took out his pen. Henry grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to Kenta. "Oh, thanks, Henry."

Kenta wrote down the information, and handed the paper to Ryo. Ryo folded the paper and stuffed it in his pocket.

"I'm going to go pick up Richard, so we can get him fitted, too," Ryo said.

"Who's Richard?" Jason asked, running his hand through his mohawk.

"My boss's kid. He's the ring bearer," Henry explained.

"Ah. I see," Jason replied.

"So I'll meet you guys over at the place," Ryo said, heading out the door.

"I guess…let's head out," Takato said, walking out the door, also.

All the other guys followed, with Jason tagging along, last, hands tucked in his pockets.

With the girls…

"Hey, how about this one, Rika?" Jeri held up a dress.

Rika sat on a bench near the dressing rooms, making a list of possible attendees for the special day. She looked up from her list, and her eyes widened. She shook her head and went back to writing.

"Rika, that's the third dress you have turned down," Amber said.

"Well…I don't like it," Rika said, "then again, I don't like dresses, period."

"Well, I'm not very fond of them myself, but I'm still wearing one," Ashley replied.

Rika looked up from what she was doing, again. Jeri held up the dress once more as Rika looked at it a little longer than before. Jeri had a hopeful smile on her face. Rika looked back down at the list.

"Hey, do you think Melanie would come if I sent her an invite?" Rika asked, deliberately changing the subject. She smirked, knowing what was going to be said next.

"Rika!" Jeri whined, "what about the dress?"

Rika started to laugh, as well as Amber and Ashley.

"What's all this about?" Alice said, walking up to the group, with a magazine in hand.

"Rika is, well, having trouble deciding what dress she's going to wear," Ashley said.

"I'm not having trouble deciding anything. I just don't like any of the dresses you have shown me," Rika said, pulling herself back together.

"Well," Alice said, slowly, "why don't you choose one yourself?"

"Because—I don't know," Rika answered.

The other's faces faltered, as Rika let out a weak chuckle. Alice walked up to Rika and grabbed her hand. Rika put down everything she had in her hand and got up.

"Rika, we're trying to help you out here, but you're refusing the support from all of us," Alice said. The rest nodded from behind her. "Now, if we all find one dress that you might like, will you try it on?"

"Mm, all right," Rika said, before sitting back down, continuing with the list.

Alice, Amber, Ashley, and Jeri scrambled around to find the right dress for Rika. Ai and Suzie later came wandering in, finding the four of them, looking at dresses, as Rika sat on the bench, going about her business.

"What's all this about? Why aren't you looking for a dress?" Ai asked.

"They're trying to find _one_ dress for me to try one," Rika said, without looking up.

"I see. I've gotta stick around to see this," Ai said, taking a seat.

"I'll help the others," Suzie said, smirking as she went to find the others.

"Right," Rika said, slowly and unsurely.

"Heheh, good ole Suzie," Ai commented. "So, what are you working on?"

"Just writing some names down for the wedding," Rika replied, taking a moment to rest her hand. "Speaking of which, you're still the flower girl, right?"

"I suppose." Ai said, watching the others looking through each dress.

"If you don't want to do it, I can always have Suzie do it."

"No, it's okay." Ai said, smiling, "I'll do it."

With the guys…

Ryo went to sit back down, as he was done being measured.

"Okay, next person," the little man said, as he got back on the stool, with a tape measure in hand.

"Why don't you go next, Jason?" Kazu insisted.

Jason shrugged, as he got up and stood in front of the stool, where the man stood.

"Spread your arms out please, parallel to the floor," the gentleman instructed.

Jason did as told, as the man measured his arm span. He stepped off the stool, wrote some numbers down, and continued measuring.

"Make sure you don't include his hair in the measurements," Ryo said, watching the little man.

The man nodded, as he continued.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I was making sure he wouldn't include the height of your hair into the measurements so it wouldn't screw up your tux," Ryo said, coolly.

"Sure," Jason murmured, as he stood there, waiting for his turn to be done.

He let his head droop down, wondering when this was going to be over. He looked at the floor and then saw Richard, squatting, looking straight at him, with a look of boredom. Richard tilted his head. Jason laughed.

"What's so funny?" Richard asked.

"You look bored." Jason looked at him and laughed once again.

Richard stood up and crossed his arms. Looking back at Jason, he said, "What's wrong with being bored?"

"Look, I didn't mean to laugh at you. I'm sorry. I'm just very bored, too."

"You're bored—look at me. I'm not doing anything, and you think you're bored?" Kazu said, falling over on the bench.

'Well, at least I know Jason is here, where I can keep an eye on him, just in case he is the guy,' Henry thought, as he watched.

"Next," the man said, going on with his work. He stood there waiting, before Kazu got up and stood before the stool. And, the man continued working.

Back with the girls…

"Rika!" Jeri came over, as well as the others, with a devious grin.

Rika and Ai looked up. Ai smiled, and said, "Can I see it, Jeri?"

Amber and Ashley revealed the dress. It was a long, white, lacey, strapless dress; when worn, the dress looked like it would gracefully trail the ground. Alice had her arms crossed and smirked.

"So, do you like it?" Alice asked.

Rika was speechless, with her mouth hanging open. She, slowly, put her things down and walked over to the dress. She meticulously went through it, examining all the details the dress had.

"I think we got it," Suzie said, whispering to Ashley, as she nodded.

"You guys did a really good job, and I really mean, a very good job, finding a dress, that I might like," Rika said, making eye contact, with each of her friends. '…Though the lace is overdoing it.'

"Okay. Our part of the deal is done. Now it's your turn," Jeri said, handing Rika the dress.

"Err…okay, okay." Rika took the dress into a dressing room. A few seconds later, she peeked her head out and asked Jeri to help her. Jeri smiled and walked in, shutting the door behind her.

The rest of the group stood there, waiting for Rika to get dressed. The door creaked open as the girls looked over, in curiosity. Jeri stepped out, and everyone's curious looks, faltered.

"Where is she?" Amber asked, rather impatiently.

"She's coming, just hold on." Jeri stuck her head back in the large dressing room, to see if Rika was ready. There were a few whispers between the two, before Jeri shut the door.

"Well?" Alice asked, hands on her hips.

"One more minute."

"Come on. Do you know how exciting this is, to see Rika in a dress?" Suzie asked.

"Is this the first time you'll see her in a dress or something?" Ashley asked.

"Of course. Rika always seem to refuse—" Jeri said, before the door creaked open.

Rika's head stuck out from the door, until she widened the door. She trudged out, completely out of the room, so the small group can see her. She tried very hard to keep at least a minimal smile on her face.

"How do I look?" Rika asked.

"One thing," Ai said, walking over to Rika, and undoing her hair from her usual ponytail. "There, much better."

Rika sighed, and wore a smile on her face.

"So, it's good?" Jeri asked.

"I guess," Rika replied, looking down at her dress.

"Rika, don't worry about how you look, because you look great," Ashley said, in a cheery tone of voice.

"Yeah, I totally agree," added Amber.

"Hmm, with that settled, let's go look for our dresses…and stuff," Jeri suggested.

Rika briskly walked back into the dressing room, to change. The girls there laughed as they walked around looking for their own dresses.

And, back to the guys…

All the guys got fitted into their tuxes, and now changing to see if the final fitting fits them. They stood in front of the mirrors, looking at themselves and walked around to see if it were comfortable. Kenta stood in front of the mirror, trying to look sophisticated, with one hand curled under his chin. The rest snickered at the sight of this. Kazu managed to get his bowtie on after a while of confusion on how to tie it. Henry buttoned his shirt and Takato was fixing his cummerbund. Mako came out with his tux and went up to the mirror.

Richard was still in process of trying to get his bowtie and cummerbund on. Ryo kneeled down to help him. As Ryo put the cummerbund around Richard's waist, Richard watched Jason fix his bowtie. After it looked right, Jason stared at his reflection. His mohawk seemed to amuse Richard in a way. He could stare at it for hours on end. Jason turned around to change out of his tux, until he caught Richard looking intently at him. Jason raised an eyebrow, and smiled as he made his way back to the changing rooms.

"Ryo, what happened to Jason's head?" Richard asked, as Ryo did his tie.

"Um, you're going to have to ask him that question because I really don't know." Ryo finished tying the tie and said, "Is it too tight?"

Richard shook his head, and looked down at his suit, then back at Ryo.

"But, he looks mean," Richard replied.

"You can't judge a book by its cover," Ryo said, inspecting Richard's suit.

Richard gawked at Ryo and said, "I don't get it."

"Um, never mind—so how do you feel in that?" Ryo asked, standing up and looking down at Richard.

Richard smiled and gave a thumbs-up. Ryo doffed his head and said, "You'll be a great ring bearer."

* * *

DF103: snore What a pathetic chapter…yesh yesh…umm…next one will be better…yesh yesh…it should be…2 more days till schools out! (as of May 27) so yeah…and just so you people know…I've never been to a wedding and such before…I sang at a reception a long while back, but that's it…so…some o the stuff about the wedding maybe inaccurate…lemme know if there's something wrong wif that…please review…r'member constructive criticism…till next chapter…L8terZ… 


	16. Spring Time Is Here

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Spring Time Is Here and Hate Is Rising In the Air

DF103: WAHH! It's been too long since I've been on the Internet for more than an hour…not really…I was on during fourth of July weekend…but AOL hates me again…terribly sorry for those o you who tried to IM me for the past month…I can't chat or surf the net…then how am i posting this, you ask? My friend, known as RukiMakino on this site is posting this for me...so yeah...tankies Madi! But, that still doesnt solve my internet problem...wahh…feh…I wanna die…wait…looks around I'm in hell, aren't I? I'm dead! I'm dead…wait…then where's morbid/dead DF103…esh…oh well…to the point…you people have waited long enough for another chapter…or at least I think so…this fic is starting to bore me…so…yeah…and soon to end!

immature DF103: comes from behind, with a sinister voice IT will get you tonight…

DF103: Doesn't scare me…and plus…you got that from the email I sent to my friends…

immature DF103: sticks tongue out and snatches story outline ACK! One more chapter after this? I'm gonna miss this fic!

DF103: There is a sequel, you know…remember…the trilogy thing…anyway…I dun own Digimon…Amber…or Ashley…but I do own…Richard, Melanie, and Jason…

morbid/dead DF103: walks in Hey, what are you doing in my domain?

DF103: My guess, I probably died from the bike crash…uhh, yeah…I thank everyone who reviewed (all will be listed next chapter) and for the constructive criticism…I tried to make this chapter better…yesh (though I really dun see a difference)…now to Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika – Spring Time Is Here and Hate Is Rising In the Air…

* * *

The invitations for the wedding ceremony and reception have been sent out. The formal wear have been bought and everything was just about ready. Winter's ice slowly melted and the sun started to shine ever so brightly. Spring slowly emerged from its hibernation; flowers started to bloom and it were a time of birth and rebirth.

For the tamers, the wedding day came closer than they expected. It was the day before the wedding. The tamers met at the center where the wedding and reception was held for the final rehearsal.

Richard walked down the aisle, carrying the ring cushion. He was halfway down the aisle and no one was behind him.

"Wait, stop Richard." Ryo said looking at the set of doors, Richard had come out from. "Ai, did we lose you?"

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't find the basket of petals." Ai popped her head from the open doors.

"Don't worry about it. It's just a rehearsal. That's why we have these things," Ryo assured, "okay, let's start back from the beginning."

"And, what are we supposed to be doing?" Kazu asked.

"What are you talking about? You didn't have to come to the rehearsal," Henry said.

"Um, I knew that." Kazu looked down at his feet.

"Sure." Rika laughed.

"Okay, places everyone!" Amber yelled out, standing up from the seat. She sat back down.

"These rehearsals stink," Jason commented, sinking down in his seat.

"Well, it was your choice to come here," Ashley said.

"But, you're here, too." Kenta pointed to Ashley and Amber.

"Yeah, for moral support," Amber explained, then looked back as the rest started the rehearsal again. "Shh, they're starting."

Ryo stood up at the front where the priest stood. Henry and Takato were the first ones to step out as the best man and the groomsman. Then, Jeri and Alice stepped through as the maid of honor and bridesmaid.

"Hmm, I thought you two were dating the two guys up there," Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, we are." Amber rolled her eyes.

"Then, why aren't you up there?" Jason asked, pointing up at the front where the others stood.

"We haven't known Rika as long as Jeri and Alice," Ashley explained.

"Yeah, the same reason you're not up there because you haven't known Ryo that long." Amber added.

"Okay…sheesh, touchy, touchy," Jason replied, sitting back.

Jason glanced back at Amber and gave her a wink. Amber just scoffed and continued watching.

Richard came out with his prop. As he walked, his shoelaces became undone, and dangled with each step. Step by step, he came closer to stepping on his own shoelaces, until he finally did. The rehearsal came to an abrupt halt once again, as everyone rushed over to see if Richard was okay.

"I'm fine," Richard assured everyone.

Jason stepped up and looked at Richard. Richard looked up and saw Jason's helping hand. He took the hand and got up.

"Need help tying your shoes?" Jason asked, as Richard bent down to tie them.

"Nope, Rika taught me how to tie them." Richard started tying his shoes, as Jason turned around to look at Rika.

"Impressive." Jason gave a wink to Rika.

"Oh, please. I'm _very_ flattered," Rika said, sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, since Richard is okay, let's start the rehearsal again." Amber, as well as Ashley, Jason, Kazu, and Kenta, went back to their seats as everyone else went to their starting places.

Later…

Rehearsal finally ended after a few more practices. Kazu, Kenta, and Jason got up and stretched, glad that the long, rehearsal was over, as Jeri, Alice, and Ai walked over to them. Ashley and Amber, on the other hand, walked over to Takato and Henry. Richard, exhausted from the practice, sat down, his feet dangling off the seat, and listened to all the conversations.

"Hmm, how were we from where you were sitting?" Takato asked, laughing.

"If you consider just standing there and watching Ryo and Rika, then you did great," Ashley answered, also with a laugh.

Takato looked at his watch.

"Say, you guys want to have a late lunch?" Takato looked around the large, decorated room, waiting for an answer.

"Well, Rika and I were thinking of just having a little down time from all this work, you know." Ryo turned to Rika, as she nodded.

"So, if you don't mind, we'll have to turn down your offer. Maybe some other time?" Rika looked at Takato.

"Sure, no problem." Takato turned to Henry and Amber. "What about you two?"

"Sorry, we're going to have to decline also," Henry answered, as Amber looked at him, slightly surprised.

'What does he have planned?' Amber thought.

"What are you two doing?" Ashley whispered to Amber.

Amber only shrugged, with a confused look on her face.

"Hmm, how about you guys?" Takato asked, looking at the rest of the group.

"Actually, we were planning on going to the mall, unless you want us to come with you." Jeri replied.

Kazu smirked at Takato, then glanced at Ashley. "You know what? On second thought, I'll leave you two alone." Kazu's smirk grew, as he and the rest of that group walked out the building, making way to the mall.

"Uh, okay then," Takato said to himself, before he turned to Ashley, "so, where do you want to go?"

"It doesn't matter," Ashley replied.

"Okay, um, you wanna just walk around and look for a place to eat?" Takato asked, slowly walking towards the door.

"Sounds like a good plan." Ashley followed.

After they left, Rika, Ryo, Henry, Amber, and Richard were left in the room, with only the sounds of indistinct conversations heard outside.

"I can't believe the day is tomorrow," Rika commented, sitting down next to Richard, also exhausted.

"No kidding," Ryo added.

"Well, judging by the practice, I think the wedding will go smoothly tomorrow," mentioned Amber.

"Good to know." Rika stifled a yawn.

Richard watched them as they talked, still exhausted, but now bored. He sat back in his seat and let out a heavy sigh.

"You seem bored," Rika said, as Richard nodded and yawned. "Do want to go to the park?"

Richard nodded, enthusiastically. Richard jumped off his seat and walked around, waiting to leave.

"Is that okay with Yamaki and Riley?" Rika asked, turning to Henry.

"Of course. He's staying with me for the night anyway," Henry replied, confidently.

"Okay, we'll watch him at the park," Ryo said, walking towards the doors.

Richard ran after Ryo, as Rika followed them.

"We'll meet you guys there," Henry yelled out, waving.

"See you two later," Rika said, waving.

The room was now empty. Amber sat down, in a seat and looked up at Henry.

"So what are we going to be doing?" Amber asked, still curious as to what Henry had in mind.

"We are going to…" Henry started, with a grin, "…play a game."

"And what game is that?" Amber's curiosity grew.

Henry stood in front of the altar where the priest was earlier and said, "now I pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride-who's-only-pretending-to-be-the-bride-for-this-little-game." Then, Henry swiftly stepped down and kissed Amber on the lips. While this occurred, through one of the windows, Melanie happened to see this sweet, happy moment. Her eyes widened and rummaged through her purse for the wedding invitation she received. She looked at the "where" on the invitation and saw that she was standing right next to the building.

"Are they getting married, too? And if so, so soon? They've only known each other for about a month or two." Melanie noted, stunned at what she was seeing.

She shook her head and continued walking.

"So, are you ready for tomorrow?" Henry asked. "I know how nervous you get..."

"Yeah, I guess," Amber said. "I am wayyy nervous, but I'll do it for Rika and Ryo. I'm so used to the recording studio...you have me so figured out," she said, and kissed him on the cheek.

"It would mean so much to Rika and Ryo," Henry said.

"How do you know?" Amber said, and laughed. "They haven't heard me sing."

"I know what they like," Henry said. "You sound like an angel." Amber rolled her eyes. "Trust me, they asked for you. Don't fail on me; I know you can do it." Henry said and kissed her.

"Wait, you told them? About...my voice?" Amber asked.

"Even if I hadn't, they knew you have a recording contract. They talked to me about it and that's when it came up."

"Oh," Amber said, and giggled with excitement. Henry laughed at her.

'Wait until they hear her,' he thought.

With Takato and Ashley…

Ashley and Takato had just eaten, and they were now at Ashley's house.

"Oh come on, you're telling me you don't know!" Ashley said.

"No, really, I don't," Takato answered, trying to keep a straight face, but Ashley was on top of him, tickling him. "You'll never get it out of me, never!" He said in a playful voice. Ashley giggled and rolled off him. They were both panting on the floor when Ashley rolled over to face him.

"Come on, you're going, you should know..." Ashley said.

"You know that if we even do that, Kazu is the one planning it all. Besides, are you sure you even want to know?" Ashley grimaced.

"Good point. Now I don't want you to go, see look, you might have just ruined the fun for yourself!"

"Oh god, not that," Takato said and rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure I even want to go. I'm taken, you know."

"Yes, I know," Ashley said, smiling. "Here, maybe if you don't go, I'll give you a private show."

"Ooo..." Takato said. "Sounds like a plan."

At the mall…

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kenta asked. "Don't you think the girls would be infuriated if we do that?"

"Dude, the girls won't know." Kazu laughed, and smacked Kenta's back. Kenta tried not to spurt out the milkshake he'd been drinking and tried to hold in the pain.

"This is going to be one interesting bachelor party." Jason took another bite of his cheeseburger.

"Oh, look. Jeri, Ai, and Alice are coming back. As of now, don't mention the plan to either of them." Kazu sat back in his chair, as they approached.

"What plan?" Jason simply asked, taking another bite of his burger. Kazu and Kenta stared at Jason as if he were crazy. "Don't worry, I was just joking. I know what you're talkin' about."

"Sorry guys. The line was long," Jeri said, sitting down at the table.

"Too long if you'd ask me," Ai said, sitting down.

"Yeah, but, looking at their food," Alice started, looking at the guys' food, "I think it was for the better. We are definitely eating healthier than they are."

Alice put down her plate of stir-fried vegetables, as Jeri and Ai shared a plate full of fried chicken strips. The guys just laughed and continued with their meal and the girls rolled their eyes.

Finally to the leading couple…

Ryo and Rika sat under a tree at the park, as they watched Richard run around with a few other kids. A cool light breeze blew through as the laughing of children echoed in the air.

"Hmm, it's a great day today." Ryo looked up into the sky.

"Yeah, let's hope the weather will be like this tomorrow," Rika replied, also looking skyward. She smiled. "Tomorrow's our day."

"It sure is. We've come a long way." Ryo brought Rika closer to him.

"No kidding," Rika said, resting her head on his chest. 'Things sure have changed while I was gone.' Rika thought about all the times she and Ryo have spent with each other. Then, she remembered how much she missed him while she was away. She had constant pangs of regret, while she stayed in the U.S, thinking why she left her friends in the first place. Now, she's back with everyone, and almost everything she'd hoped for has finally become a reality, with little doubts, here and there.

"Hey, isn't that Suzie and Mako?" Ryo asked looking straight ahead.

Rika looked around, until she spotted the two walking down the pathway, hand in hand.

"Sure looks like them," Rika replied.

"Are they an item?" Ryo asked, watching them walk by.

"Probably. I'll bet you anything that they'll dance together tomorrow at the reception," Rika said, a smirk spreading across her face.

Ryo laughed and said, "Nah, I know you'll win that bet." They both laughed and let out a soft sigh.

"I'm tired," Rika said, as she shifted her body to rest her head Ryo's shoulder.

"Same here," Ryo replied, shutting his eyes.

Richard sat in the grass, with a group of kids, about his age.

"Hey, hey, hey, does anyone know who the Digimon King and Queen are? Because, my mommy says that the only way to win the Digimon tournament is to learn from them," a little boy (a year younger than Richard) asked, showing his Digimon hat to everyone, then putting it back on his maroon colored hair.

"Never heard of them. Who are they?" another boy asked.

Richard gasped. "They're only the greatest Digimon card game players ever."

"Ooo! Do you know them?" the boy with that hat asked.

"Yup!" Richard said, proudly. He looked over at Ryo and Rika and was about to call out to them, when he noticed that they were sleeping. "They're taking a nap right now."

"Are they your mommy and daddy or something?" a girl asked, as she sat down, taking a glance at Ryo and Rika.

"Ah! A Girl! Cooties!" two of the boys yelled out, as they backed away from her.

The girl pouted and crossed her arms. "I don't have cooties."

"Yeah, girls don't have cooties. My daddy's friend said so," Richard explained. "You live with your mom, don't you, and she doesn't have cooties, does she?"

The two boys shook their head and joined the group again. The girl smiled at Richard.

"So, are they your mommy and daddy?" the girl asked again.

Richard shook his head. "They're my mommy and daddy's friends. I've known the Ryo since I was really, really little, and my mommy and daddy always used to talk about Rika, until I finally met her."

"Wow, that's so cool," the girl said.

"Yeah, really cool," a boy added.

Couple of hours later…

The rest of the gang, other than Ryo and Rika, arrived at the park. They saw Richard and asked him where Ryo and Rika were. Richard simply pointed towards the tree where the two were found sleeping. Kazu snuck up towards them.

"HEY, RYO-MAN!" Kazu yelled out. "Wake up and smell the coffee!"

Ryo groaned, and Rika's eyes fluttered open, only to see Jeri and Alice's faces.

"Ah!" Rika yelled out.

"Come with us. We're throwin' a party for you!" Jeri exclaimed.

"Same with you Ryo. Come on, up and at em," Takato said, helping Ryo up.

Ryo's eyes were still half open (or half shut) and didn't comprehend everything that was going on around him. He just got up and walked with the group.

"Hey Takato!" Henry yelled out, throwing Takato the keys to his house, "You're in charge for a while. I have to take Richard home!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Henry," Kazu said, catching the keys. He then whispered, "Why don't you let the girls watch him tonight. I mean. We'll probably be so loud that the little kid might not be able to sleep."

Henry thought for moment. He turned to Alice and asked, "Could you watch Richard?"

"Sure. I'm sure Rika will have an extra room in her house, err, I mean, Rika and Ryo's house." Alice placed her hands on Richard's shoulders.

"Okay, thanks." Henry retrieved the keys from Kazu and they both went to catch up with the others.

Rika was surrounded by all of her girl friends.

"Oh, come on, Rika!" Jeri said. "It's your last night as a single woman."

"Yeah, and the guys are having a party for Ryo," Ashley added.

"So? I really think I should get ready for tomorrow," Rika replied, crossing her arms.

"And, I think you need to just relax and have some fun the day before you get married," Amber said.

Rika looked intently at everyone. All the girls, including Alice, had hopeful, convincing looks on their faces. Rika only sighed and smiled.

"Okay, when?" Rika asked, unexpected of what was coming next.

"Starting now." Jeri grabbed Rika's hand and dragged her in the direction of Rika's house.

"You know what, I'm going to have to pass on this. I'm bushed." Suzie walked away from the group of girls.

"Yeah, same here. Have fun." Ai followed Suzie.

"Hmm, fun. Let's just hope the guys aren't doing anything stupid," Alice said, following everyone, with Richard closely trailing along.

"That's why we had Ashley check it out," Amber said, and Ashley groaned. "Oh no, what Ashley?" Amber asked.

"Umm...he couldn't tell me. I honestly think that only Kazu and Kenta know about it. And what's worse, Ryo is a babe magnet…" Rika growled.

"Whoa, hold on, Rika, it's just some innocent fun...we're gonna have some fun of our own, now let's go!" Jeri said, and picked up the pace.

With the guys…

"Yes, anyone is fine," Kazu whispered into the phone. "Just make sure she's good-looking—okay, and you have the address, right?"

"Kazu? What are you doing?" Henry said, walking into the kitchen. Henry saw Kazu, slightly crouching, while talking on the phone.

Kazu looked horrified as he whipped around to look at Henry.

"Umm, okay, uh, I'll pay up front…uh-huh, bye." Kazu said, with hesitation, as he hurried to hang up. Kazu laughed nervously, and said, "Uh, hey Henry. What's up?"

"Who were you on the phone with?" Henry asked, suspiciously.

"Just some business contacts. You know, talking about our new products and…" Kazu looked around, trying to think of something to say, before he continued, "…stuff."

"Sure." Henry gave him another look of suspicion before he prepared the drinks for the rest of the guys.

Kazu snuck out of the kitchen and joined the others. He smirked and took a seat next to Jason. Jason just sat there, listening to all of these stories about the digimon back then. He listened attentively. It all seemed like a fairy tale to him until…

"Can we come out, Henry?" a voice shouted.

"Yeah. Come on out." Henry brought out a tray, with glasses full of beer.

Terriermon, Guilmon, Guardromon, MarineAngemon, and Monodramon came out of Henry's room and joined the rest of the group. Jason took a large swig of beer, before he noticed all of them. His eyes widened.

"Holy shit!" Jason looked at Terriermon, then the other digimon.

Terriermon gazed at him, and slinked behind Takato. "Who's he, and what's on his head? It looks like a big furry slug."

Guilmon sniffed the air. "New person."

Jason's eye twitched and tried to smile as Monodramon approached him.

"Monodramon," Ryo called out. Monodramon retreated towards Ryo.

"Oops, my bad. Jason, that's Terriermon. Terriermon, he's Jason." Henry pointed to each of them. "And Terriermon, be polite."

Marineangemon was seen on top of Jason's head, poking his mohawk ever so gently.

"Hey!" Jason yelled out, trying to grab MarineAngemon.

"Hey, watch it." Kenta grabbed MarineAngemon.

"Kazu, is he a new friend?" Guardromon asked, glancing at Jason.

"Of course he is," Kazu said, taking another gulp of his drink.

"Okay, dude, this is not a real. It's all a dream. None of this is real." Jason clutched his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Um, are you okay?" Henry asked, walking up to him.

"Does it look like I'm okay? I'm seeing things, and, and, and…" It was obvious that Jason was overwhelmed.

"Dude, it's okay. These guys are harmless." Kazu laughed and roughly patted his back.

'So he does have a soft side. Or rather, a very childish side,' Henry thought, laughing subconsciously.

'I will be fine. As long as they don't bite my head off, I'm fine,' Jason thought.

"Is he going to be okay? We can back into that room if you want us to," Guardromon said.

Jason took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"That won't be necessary. I am fine." Jason regained his composure and gave a reassuring smile.

"You sure didn't look fine," Terriermon blurted.

Jason shot a glare at Terriermon, and his red eye once again, glinted. Terriermon stepped back and hid behind the closest person.

'Whoa, what a change in attitude. He seemed like a baby just a second ago, and now he's this creepy dude,' Terriermon thought. "Hey Ryo, I don't like this guy," Terriermon complained, whispering loud enough for Ryo to hear.

"Just give it some time. He's not so bad, I think," Ryo whispered back.

When Jason looked away from Terriermon, Terriermon stuck his tongue out at him.

"So, what are your names again?" Jason asked, in a civil tone.

"I'm Guilmon." Guilmon stepped up.

"This is Guardromon," Kazu said, as he placed his hands on Guardromon's head.

"Monodramon. Pleasure to meet you." Monodramon doffed his head.

"I, Marineangemon." Marineangemon waved.

"Aw, do I have to?" Terriermon asked, as Henry nodded. "I'm Terriermon."

"Um, okay then," Jason replied, a little confused.

"Well, now that that's over," Takato raised his glass in the air, "Cheers to Ryo for his last night as a single man!"

"Cheers!" Everyone else did the same, and took a good swig of beer.

The guys set their glasses down on the table before they heard a knock on the door.

"Hmm, I wonder who that could be," Henry asked, walking up to the door, as Kazu and Kenta snickered, and Jason sat in silence.

The girls…

Rika, other girls, and Richard sat out by the pond in Rika's backyard, holding mugs of hot cocoa, as the sun started to set.

Alice took a sip of her cocoa. "I think we should have these more often. There aren't any guys yelling out to each other."

"I agree. Kazu's loud mouth is something that cannot be missed," Jeri mentioned and laughed.

Ashley nudged Rika. "Are you okay? You're too quiet."

"I'm tired. You guys did wake me up from a nice relaxing nap in the park today," Rika explained.

"With Ryo," Amber added.

"Yeah. You know, at the park, I was thinking…" Rika started, pausing to take a sip of cocoa.

"Oh my gosh, you're not having second thoughts about the wedding, are you?" Jeri panicked. Richard's head perked up at this point.

"No, not at all. Just how this seems like a dream come true thing, you know what I mean?" Rika explained. "And, that none of this would've happened if I hadn't come back here."

"You wouldn't have met us," Amber said, referring to Ashley and herself.

"You wouldn't know who I am," Richard added.

"And, everyone missed you," Alice said, as they relived the day Rika came back.

"We're there for you, Rika." Jeri embraced Rika into a hug. "I still can't believe you're getting married tomorrow."

"Ugh, happy moment," Alice muttered.

What are the guys up to?

Henry opened the door and saw Melanie, standing there in a long fur coat.

"Henry!" Melanie gasped in astonishment.

"M-Melanie, what are you doing here?" Henry managed to stutter out.

Kazu and Kenta peeked out into the hallway and saw Melanie.

"Oh dude. It's Melanie!" Kenta whispered loudly. "Please say she's not the stripper."

"Um, I think she is," Kazu replied.

"Is this your address?" Melanie asked, showing Henry the paper.

"Um, yeah." Henry was so confused.

Melanie grinned. "I see now. This little shindig is for that one guy who's getting married tomorrow, isn't it?"

Henry nodded.

"I can't believe this," Kenta softly cried out, walking back into the room. Kazu followed.

Melanie smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek, leaving a distinct kiss mark. She backed him into the room where all the other guys were talking. They stopped as Melanie and Henry entered the room. Melanie ruffled Henry's hair. Henry shot a glare at Kazu. Melanie started out by kissing everyone but Ryo, leaving kiss marks on their cheeks just like Henry. She then slowly advanced towards Ryo, swinging her hips with each step.

"Um, guys? What's going on here?" Ryo asked, as he tried to avoid Melanie.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Kazu? Or Kenta?" Takato answered, adding an emphasis on the names.

Kazu just sat there, watching Melanie and Kenta avoided watching anything. Of all the people he got hooked up with, he just had to get with a stripper. What luck.

Melanie looked around and spotted a stereo sound system. She found the remote for it, turned it on, and changed it to the necessary station for the right erotic music. Her seductive eyes darkened with arousal.

"I can't believe this. I can't believe this," Kenta repeated.

Takato stood there, and then glanced at the digimon, who gawked at the sight. Takato led the digimon out of the room and into Henry's room. Kazu and Jason watched and drooled, as Melanie took her coat and her showy clothes off, leaving her in a very revealing top and a thong.

"Now let's start with you, before all of your friends," Melanie whispered in Ryo's ear. She sat on his lap and first placed a kiss on his cheek and on his forehead. She ran her hand through his chocolate brown hair.

In a nearby window, where the curtain had a slight peek hole, a yellowish figure stood there, observing the event, which took place inside, with its icy blue eyes. After seeing enough, the yellow figure disappeared into the shadows.

And the girls…again…

Rika walked back into the living room from tucking Richard into bed. They were planning on going out to a bar to have drink or two. They were waiting for Renamon to appear to watch Richard while they were gone. Where she was, no one seemed to know.

"She still hasn't shown up?" Rika asked, sitting down.

"No," Amber replied.

"Renamon?" Rika called out into the air.

A few moments later, Renamon materialized in front of all of them. This made Amber and Ashley jump, just the slightest bit.

"I guess we still have to get used to that happening." Ashley looked up at Renamon, who had an unusually concerned look on her face.

"I think all of you better head over to Henry's house at once," Renamon stated.

Without question, they all grabbed their jackets and put their shoes on.

"Renamon, could you please watch Richard while we're gone?" Rika asked.

"Okay," Renamon replied.

The girls headed out the door and jumped into the van Alice drove.

"I knew they were up to something," Alice said, slamming her foot on the gas pedal. The tires spun in place, leaving a tire mark on the road, before it finally moved.

When they got to the door of Henry's house, they could hear very loud music. Jeri repeatedly rang the doorbell, but no one came to answer. She turned the doorknob and found that it was unlocked. The girls let themselves in and looked around the corner only to see Jason and Kazu on the floor, drunk as ever, and Ryo with kiss marks all his face and an almost-nude girl sitting on him. Rika stormed up to the girl, as Ashley and Amber left the room to find Henry and Takato.

"Who do you think you are!" Rika yelled, grabbing the girl's arm. "He's already taken." She looked at the girl and noticed it was Melanie.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't you?" Melanie got up and gathered her clothes.

Rika was shocked. She looked at Ryo, and he dazedly gazed back at her with a goofy smile. Rika's eyes were filled with pain. She looked back at Melanie.

"You bitch!" Rika yelled out before turning around and walking out of the room, as a stray tear fell to the floor.

It took Ryo a few moments before he noticed what was going on. He looked at Melanie and shook his head. He walked past Jeri, while looking for Rika.

"Bad call there, Ryo," Jeri said, before going back to trying to get Jason and Kazu to get up.

Ryo was about to explain before he said, "Not now." He looked out in the hallway and saw Rika walk into the kitchen. He entered the kitchen, noticing that no one else was in there but him and Rika.

"Rika…" Ryo trailed off, remembering the pained look she had. He paused and gazed at the back of her ead.

"Why? Why did you do it?" Rika asked, in a quiet tone.

"Rika, I had no idea," Ryo replied, inching towards her.

"But, why? You could've just left or something." Rika turned around to face Ryo. "Gosh look at you…" Rika took some paper towel and wet them, to wipe off all the lipstick off Ryo's face.

Ryo stayed silent. Rika was not in a good mood to deal with any of his remarks. He looked at her in the eye. Her lavender colored eyes saddened as they met his cerulean eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rika." Rika stopped trying to wipe the lipstick off and looked down at the floor. Ryo leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I really am."

Ryo brought her chin up so that she was facing him. He kissed her on the lips. Rika couldn't help, but return the kiss. They kissed passionately.

Ashley and Takato were in a room. They've been sitting there in silence for a quite a while. Ashley broke the silence.

"You shouldn't have come." Ashley looked at Takato.

"I know, I really shouldn't have."

Ashley sighed and took a tissue from the tissue box off the bedside table. She tried to gently wipe off the lipstick off Takato's cheek, just as Rika did with Ryo. She hugged him afterwards.

Amber and Henry stood across from each other in the hallway leaning against the wall. Amber glanced at Henry every once in a while.

"What were you guys thinking?" Amber asked, a hint of dismay.

Henry stood there.

"So you guys decided to have fun by inviting a stripper to the party, huh?" Amber asked, trying to get the story right in her head, so she doesn't get the wrong idea.

"I didn't know about any of this. No one did except Kazu, Kenta, and probably Jason."

Amber scowled when she heard the name 'Jason.'

"Then, what about the fact that the stripper was Melanie?" Amber asked, and then a bad thought came to mind. "Do you still like her?"

Henry looked at her and shook her head. "No, of course not. Her being a stripper thing was a coincidence."

"Good," Amber said, embracing him in a hug. "Let's go find the others."

Jeri slapped Kazu.

"I know it was your idea, Kazu!" Jeri yelled.

Kazu rubbed his already red cheek. "Sorry. I just did it for kicks."

"I hope Rika's okay," Alice said.

"Well, there's no need for me anymore," Melanie said, digging through her purse. She took out a familiar looking invitation and ripped it up. "You won't see me there tomorrow."

"Well, good, because I you're not invited anymore!" Jeri was furious.

Melanie simply threw the ripped pieces in Jeri's face and walked towards the door. Jeri withheld the urge to rip Melanie into shred. Takato, Ashley, Henry, and Amber walked out as Melanie made her way to the door.

"Bye Henry," she said, hoping to get a nice reply, back.

"Bye, yourself," Henry answered. Melanie scoffed and walked out, slamming the door.

"Where are Ryo and Rika?" Ashley asked.

Jeri pointed to the kitchen. The group peeked in the kitchen and saw the two of them in a deep conversation, with a kiss every once in a while.

Jeri cleared her throat and loudly said, "Well, since the wedding is tomorrow, I guess we should be heading home."

Rika and Ryo appeared at the doorway. The group smiled.

"Yeah, so we'll see you guys tomorrow," Rika said, giving Ryo a kiss. "You're staying at Takato's right?"

Ryo nodded. "And all you girls are going to be at our house, right?"

"Sure are," Ashley replied.

"Oh before I forget. This is Richard's tuxedo for tomorrow's ceremony." Henry handed Rika a bag.

"Okay. Good night, you guys." Rika said.

Everyone exchanged their 'good nights' and left to rest up for the next coming day.

* * *

DF103: Holy shit! I'm so tired. Right now, it is 4:53 in the morning. I think this is the longest chapter I've written…I typed the last half of the fic in three hours…(that's a lot o typing). Well, last chapter is coming out soon…I think. I assure you…it will come out before summer is over, at least when it's over for me because I go back to school on August 11…sighs oh well…so many fics to work on. OH! If you are regular fiction and poetry fans…check out my stuff on listed under LoneReaper…so yeah…I need some feedback on the stuff so if you get the chance…check em out…okay…I think that's it…yeah…

immature DF103: Thanx for sticking with us!

morbid/dead DF103: If you get the chance, please review…

DF103: And, I'll hopefully see you in the next and final chapter…


	17. Wedding Bells Ring

Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika

Wedding Bells Ring

DF103: Heh…I saved this chapter as "P.O.S." Anyways…final chapter is here! Okay, thanks for the reviews and for keeping up with the fic. Here's a little interesting thing I've noticed…did you know that there are no Ryuki fics with a word length past 100,000 whereas Juri/Ruki and Rukato fics have at least one? Yesh, it's true. I found that out when I was really bored. Okay, back to the fic. First of all, I was asked by some of the writers if they were invited to the wedding, so all writers and fans are! So, it's the final chapter…yesh…never thought I'd see the day, when this would come…soooo…I'll just go on and ahead and just cut the rants…cause there'll be a lot of that at the end. I dun own digimon, Amber Kamisaka, Ashley Ojuka, "Whenever You Call" by Mariah Carey or "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson. So…here's the final chapter, the longest one in the whole fic (it's very, very long). And I'll repeat once again…I HAVE NOT BEEN TO A WEDDING RECENTLY WHERE I CAN REMEMBER WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED…so if anything seems outta line, I apologize. Here's Little Richard's Intentions For Ryo & Rika – Wedding Bells Ring…

* * *

Rika woke up to the sounds of rushing footsteps. She propped herself up from her bed and found Richard, curled up in a ball, next to her. From her bed, she looked out into the hallway, through a crack in the door and saw Amber and Ashley, running in one direction, and Jeri and Alice running in the other. She was about to lie back down before she heard a familiar voice. 

"Rika, you better wake up," Renamon suggested from the shadows.

"I have plenty of time…" Rika started looking at the clock. "The wedding doesn't start till five o'clock. It's only one." Rika raised an eyebrow. 'Wow, that sounds weird, 'It's _only_ one,' and Richard's still sleeping.'

"But, according to them," Renamon appeared and pointed to everyone outside her room, "you have to be there early. They want you there at around four. You have to eat, get ready, pack, and all this other stuff…"

Rika's dazed look met with Renamon's concerned look. She let out a sigh and carefully got out of bed, to avoid waking Richard up. She trudged over to the door, to inform everyone that she was awake. Rika got to the door and was about to reach for it, before Suzie and Ai stuck their faces in hers. Suzie held a tray with a plate of food on it.

"Morning, Rika! Hurry and eat up," Suzie said, cheerfully. Ai took the plate of eggs and bacon from the tray and gave it to Rika.

"Um, thanks. Shouldn't you two get ready, too?" Rika asked, picking away at the scrambled eggs.

"Don't worry about us," Ai said. "We'll get your dress."

"Here." Suzie gave Rika a glass of orange juice before the two of them left.

Rika sat down on her bed and set the glass on the side table. She ate silently, still sleepy. She looked over her shoulder and saw Richard, still sleeping.

"Renamon?" Rika asked, as her partner appeared.

"Yes, Rika?" Renamon answered.

"How did he end up in my bed?" Rika gestured to Richard.

"I think he was having, what you humans call, a nightmare."

"Hmm, well, why didn't he go into one of the other rooms?"

"That's something you'll have to ask him, Rika." Renamon disappeared into the shadows.

Rika looked back at Richard and then got up. She took her plate and glass out to the kitchen, running into Alice and Amber.

"Hey sleepy-head," Amber said.

Rika yawned as she put her dishes in the sink. "Hi."

"You nervous about today?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, I am actually. I'm just too tired to show it I guess." Rika ran her hand through her hair, moving it away from her face. She made her way back to the room, before the doorbell rang. She, then, walked over to the door and opened to see who it was.

"Are you Rika Nonaka?" a deliveryman asked, holding a card in one hand and a bouquet of red and white roses in the other.

"Yes," Rika simply answered.

"Delivery for you from a Mr. Ryo Akiyama." The delivery guy gave handed Rika the flowers and the card. "Have nice day." The man doffed his head and headed back to his van.

"You too," Rika said, faintly, reading at the card. "_Well, today's the day. You nervous? I am. I sent these to you in hopes of calming your nerves a little and to make up for what happened last night. I'll see you later today. I love you. Ryo."_

Rika smiled, and smelled the flowers. She walked back into the kitchen.

"Whoa, where'd you get those?" Alice asked. The answer came to her as soon as she asked it. "Oh, duh, Ryo, right?"

"Yeah." Rika set them down on the table and rummaged around to look for something to put them in.

"Here, we'll look for it. You go get ready," said Amber.

"Thanks." Rika walked back to her room.

As Rika approached her room, she saw Jeri, walking into her room with a bowtie and cummerbund in her hand.

'Richard's probably awake,' Rika thought, knocking on her own room door, not wanting to interrupt anything.

"Yeah?" was the answer that came out.

Rika walked in. "It's just me."

"Great!" Jeri squealed. "It's about time you came back in here. Now Ai and Suzie brought your dress in here."

Rika turned to look at the dress. Her eyes widened, finally realizing that today's indeed her wedding day. Rika fell to her knees, eyes widened in shock.

"Rika, are you okay?" Jeri asked, kneeling down next to her.

"It's today." Rika's head slowly turned to Jeri and shook her head. "It's really today. I'm not ready."

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no. This isn't happening, Rika. Don't let your nerves get to you."

Richard looked up from adjusting his bowtie. Rika's breathing became erratic.

"Calm down, Rika," Richard said.

Rika's irregular breathing got the better of her and she blacked out.

"Um, you guys? I think Rika just passed out," Jeri yelled out, holding Rika's head up, as Richard jumped down from the bed to fan her.

Ryo was tense as he walked around the house, tying his bowtie, with Henry shortly behind him.

"The roses have been sent, Ryo," Takato said. Now, Takato was organizing and making sure the getaway car for Ryo and Rika's honeymoon, would sure to be there on time. Kazu, Kenta, and Mako sat on the couch, ready to go and bored out of their minds as they waited for specified orders.

"Dude, Ryo. Take a chill pill," Kazu advised, watching him and Henry pace around Henry's house.

"Take a chill pill? You shouldn't be talking. I thought I almost lost Rika, again, because of what happened last night. You went too far yesterday. I can't let anything else go wrong." Kazu had a look of shame on his face. Ryo paused and drew in a deep breath before he continued, in a more calmly manner. "I have to make sure everything is going as planned. Make sure everything is in order—"

"Ryo, don't worry about that. That's why we're here." Henry patted Ryo's back before going into his kitchen to get him a glass of water.

"Takato, this thing is too tight." Guilmon came out with a tie around his neck.

"Well, then loosen it." Takato walked over, with the phone to his ear.

"I'm glad the digimon are invited. It's going to be a whole new experience for them," Kenta noted, watching the digimon, scurrying around with bowties on.

Ryo finally sat down, and fiddled around with his tie, staring into space.

"Yoo-hoo…Ryo?" Monodramon waved his hand in his face.

"Wha?" Ryo looked up. He saw all the concerned looks on everyone's faces. "I'm fine. Just great. Yeah."

"You nervous?" Henry asked, handing him the glass of water.

"Yeah. I've never been this nervous before."

"Don't sweat it. Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. Is there anything the two of us can do to make it up?" Kazu asked, gesturing to Kenta and himself.

Ryo let his head hang low, looking at the floor. "Jason was in on it, too, wasn't he?" Kazu nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Okay, what exactly happened yesterday?" Mako asked confused about what they were referring to.

"You don't want to know," Takato answered, putting the phone down and sitting down with the others.

Mako just shook his head and said, "Whatever," before looking at his watch. "Hey, it's twelve-fifteen. Shouldn't we be eating?"

"I'll get something. What do you want?" Jason asked, as he walked in with his suit on and his hair gelled back, held together in the back with a rubber band.

"Hey! You got the slug off your head!" Terriermon fell to the floor, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah," Jason muttered, as he turned to the others. "So what do you guys want?"

"Uh, umm, just get some cheeseburgers and fries," Kazu replied, surprised to see Jason without his mohawk.

"Done deal." Jason walked out and got on his motorcycle. The engine started and he drove off, with a light trail of smoke.

"He loves that motorcycle." Mako watched him leave.

"No kidding," Kenta said, facing the others again.

"Ryo, you okay?" Henry asked, seeing that he didn't take a drink.

Ryo nodded and looked up, his face red from the blood that rushed to his head. "I've always hoped this day would come and now look…it did." He glanced at Henry and Takato, before looking down at the glass of water. "Thanks. You guys kept me sane throughout all these years."

Henry looked at Takato, and gave a thumbs-up, establishing that the plan was almost a success.

"No problem, Ryo. No problem." Takato said.

"Aw, look at the three of them." Kazu snickered.

"Shut up, man," Kenta said, nudging him in the ribs.

Rika started to regain consciousness and felt herself on her bed. She heard distant conversations. The discussion grew louder as she became more aware of what went on around her. She opened her eyes and saw a pair of hazel-brown eyes.

"Oh my gosh!" Rika yelled out, surprised to wake up, and see someone's eyes that close.

"Good! You're awake! Rika, hurry up and get washed up and dressed and stuff!" Jeri exclaimed, as she packed some of Rika's clothes.

"What happened?" Rika asked, looking at Richard, who was laughing because he startled her.

"You passed out," Ashley said, fixing her light blue dress in front of the mirror.

Rika was stunned. She shook her head and headed for the bathroom. When they heard the door to the bathroom close, and the shower was turned on, Richard said, "The plan's gonna work!"

"After a lot of ups and downs, I think so," Alice commented, looking at her dress. "Tell me, Jeri. Why did our dresses have to be light pink?"

"I don't know. You didn't say anything, when we were looking for a dress to wear." Jeri brushed her hair.

"Don't worry, you look great," Amber assured, glancing at her, before she continued putting a little bit of makeup on.

"Eh…right." Alice sat down and looked at Amber's silver dress. "You look great, also."

"Thanks," Amber replied, gathering all her things.

"So, you nervous about singing today?" Jeri asked.

"Just a little," Amber answered.

"Oh, come on. You'll do fine," Ashley said.

"You're going to sing?" Richard asked. Amber nodded. "Oh! Can you sing now? Please?"

"No, it's okay. You'll hear me at the reception."

"Aren't you going to warm up or something?" Ashley asked.

"Nah, I'll have plenty of time to warm up."

"Jeri! Bring the dress here!" Rika yelled out from the bathroom.

"Coming, coming." Jeri grabbed the dress and swiftly walked over to the bathroom.

A lone stomach growled.

"How long does it take to grab a few burgers?" Mako asked, resting his chin on his arm, looking out the window.

"I don't know, but I'm starving," Kazu commented, leaning back in the couch.

"We're all starving," Ryo said, forgetting about being nervous.

"Maybe he's poisoning the food!" Kenta yelled out.

There was an awkward silence among the group, before Henry broke it.

"I don't think he'll do that…"

Mako continued looking out the window, bored and hungry, waiting for Jason to come back with food. The six of them heard a distant a sound of a motorcycle. Mako soon saw a red motorcycle park outside the house, and a man in black and white took his helmet off and walked up to the door with a bag of food.

"He's here!" he yelled out. Everyone rushed to the door.

Jason walked through the door, and stopped in his tracks as he saw the guys, drooling.

"Um, here?" Jason held the bag before him.

Kazu snatched the bag and reached in to grab a burger.

"Man, it's about time you came back with some food!" Kazu said, before he took a big bite out of his burger.

"How much do we owe you?" Ryo asked, taking a burger from the bag.

"Nothing." Jason sat down.

"Jason, man, you rock," Kazu mumbled with his mouth full. He shrugged.

"Thanks for the food," Henry said, giving a piece to Terriermon.

"Well, it got him to stop worrying now, didn't it?" Jason asked, pointing to Ryo.

Ryo gave a smile. "For now. After my hunger is out of the way, I'll go back to being nervous."

Kenta looked at his burger, and sniffed it. A funny thought came to him and he smirked to himself. He took a bite out of it and started to gag. The others turned to Kenta, as he fell to the floor. He stopped the spasmodic motion. The others turned to Jason in horror, after Kenta seemed to stop breathing. Kazu jumped to help him, as Henry got up to call for an ambulance. Looking at his face, Kazu saw Kenta smile.

Kenta opened his eyes. "Gotcha…"

Henry put the phone down, and watched Kenta laugh his butt off.

"Eheh, you had us fooled, Kenta…" Kazu commented, dully.

The girls on the other hand were much more productive. The dress was put on, and the make-up was applied. Rika stood before the mirror, looking at herself for the umpteenth time.

"Rika! You look great!" Jeri squealed with joy.

Rika was speechless and in awe.

"Ryo is going to be so…so…I can't find the word, but he'll be amazed at how you look!" Suzie exclaimed.

"No kidding," Ashley commented. Everyone in the room agreed.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but shouldn't we go now, to see if everything is set there?" Alice asked.

Amber turned to the clock. "Yup, we should be going."

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe the time is almost here," Rika said, sitting down.

"Don't worry, it's one day, and then probably happiness afterwards," Ai comforted.

"Ai's right. Anyway, you look great," added Ashley, as she walked out the door.

"Yup, and just chill out, okay?" Amber said, as she stopped in the doorway. Rika nodded.

The group of girls left, leaving Rika, Jeri, and Richard in the room.

"Aren't you going with them, Richard?" Rika asked.

Richard shook his head. "Jeri said that if I es-escort you, I'd be a gentleman."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Jeri asked, laughingly. "Well, good for you Richard."

"That's very nice of you. Thank you." Rika smiled.

"Your welcome, Rika," Richard replied, putting his shiny, black shoes on. "When are we leaving?"

"Um," Jeri looked at the clock. "Soon."

Rika drew in a deep breath and stood up. Richard jumped around with excitement. "Ryo and Rika are getting married!" Rika and Jeri smiled at the sight of this and headed for towards the front door. Richard ran in front of them, and opened the door.

"After you," Richard said, as he let Rika and Jeri walk out to the mid-sized limousine.

The chauffeur stood beside the car with the door ajar. With each careful step, Rika tried not to dirty her dress. She, ever so slightly, picked her dress up from the ground and continued walking. As they approached, the chauffeur widened the door. Rika got in first, followed by Jeri who helped gently move Rika's dress. Richard hopped in and the driver shut the door. Then engine started and they were off.

"So, Richard. Did you have a bad dream last night?" Rika asked, trying to ward off the stress and anxiety.

"Mm-hmm…" Richard nodded, as he trailed off. "It was really, really bad."

"Care to tell us about it?" Jeri asked.

"There was this really evil guy and he was trying to hurt everyone. He was very scary and he looked like Jason."

Jeri and Rika gave each other a look.

"Well, I don't think Jason is going to hurt anyone," Rika reassured.

Back to the guys, they just sat gathered in the living room.

"Isn't it about time we leave?" Kenta asked, looking up from his watch, acting mature once again.

"Yes, the ushers and the greeters have to be there early, to set up the chairs, make sure everything is up and good to go," Takato explained.

"I'm an usher, right?" Jason asked, looking up at Takato from where he was sitting.

"Um, yeah. You and Kenta." Takato pointed to each of them, and then pointed to Kazu and Mako, "and you two are going to be at the front, greeting the people. Be polite."

"I thought this was a small wedding," Kenta said.

"Nope, don't think so." Ryo answered. "Now get going."

"Right, right." Kazu, and the other three ushers/greeters grabbed their jackets and headed out.

"Wait!" Henry shouted out, as Jason's head popped out from the doorway. "Take the digimon with you. They can help."

"Alrighty," Jason affirmed, as he waved them over to go with them. The digimon followed suit. Henry and Takato sighed, watching the guys leave.

"We should leave soon, too," Takato suggested.

"Hold up. I have to find the rings." Henry started out by searching his room, but ended up searching the entire house. Takato and Ryo joined in on the search, as well. When they looked in every single place possible, they began to panic.

"We've got a major problem!" Ryo's right eye began to twitch.

"What are we supposed to do!" Takato asked.

Henry stood there thinking, wondering where he put the rings.

"Maybe you gave it to one of the girls, last night." Takato mentioned, remembering that Henry gave Rika a bag of Richard's things.

"I don't think so."

"Did you check your pockets?" Takato asked.

"Actually, no, I didn't. You know what? I think I put it there so I wouldn't forget them." Henry answered, as he stuck his hands into his pocket. His eyes widened. "There's a hole in my pocket."

"What!" Ryo and Takato was alarmed.

"Oh, gosh. I can't believe this is happening," Ryo said, plunging into a chair.

"I am so sorry." Henry's head drooped down, as he tugged on his bowtie, feeling suffocated.

"Come on," Takato started, "Ryo, you go on ahead and meet the other guys. Henry and I will look for the ring."

"What if you don't find it?" Ryo asked.

"We'll figure something out, just go ahead and go."

"Alright," Ryo said, uncertainly. He headed towards the door, and then looked back, with an unsure look on his face.

"Don't worry. Just go. We'll get it," Henry reassured. He tried to sound as calm, and as convincing as he could.

Ryo smiled weakly, before he walked out. Takato and Henry watched Ryo leave in the limousine, before they scrambled around to look for the ring.

"If it was in your pocket, it couldn't have gone far," Takato said, crawling around the floor, looking under the couch.

It was only minutes before Henry and Takato sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, staring into space. The room was a complete mess; all the furniture was moved around and everything was jumbled into one spot.

"We're screwed," Takato said, lightly hitting his head against the wall.

"Yup," Henry answered looking at his watch. "Let's look again. We still have time."

Takato nodded and got up.

When they arrived, Ryo got out of the limo and took a good look at the building. The car door was shut as he walked to the door. The door swung open, revealing Jeri, Kazu, and Mako.

"Now you two stand here, and smile!" Jeri said, her perky attitude being sensed from a mile away. Jeri spotted Ryo and shuffled over to him.

"Big day today!" Jeri exclaimed.

"Big day, big problem." Ryo's voice was glum, showing no enthusiasm. He tried to avoid eye contact.

"Problem? What's the problem?" Jeri asked, as her perkiness died down.

Ryo turned and looked at her. "No rings."

"What?" Jeri looked confused. "How's that possible? I saw Richard, putting them on the ring cushion."

"What?" Now Ryo had the confused look. "Henry said he had it in his pocket."

"Here, I'll show you." Jeri lead the way into the building, passing by Kazu and Mako. She saw Jason and Kenta sitting around. "Get up." She looked towards the door, and saw Yamaki and Riley, being greeted by Kazu and Mako. "Sit them down."

Jeri continued leading Ryo to where Richard was, as Jason and Kenta stood up. After going through two sets of doors, they found Richard standing in a corner with the digimon, with his prop in hand. Richard looked up and smiled when he saw Ryo.

"Hi Ryo!" Richard shouted, walking up to him and Jeri.

"Richard, could we see the rings?" Jeri asked.

"Uh-huh." Richard handed the cushion to Jeri.

Jeri gladly took the cushion from Richard's hands and touched the two rings. "See? They're right here." She gave the cushion back to Richard.

Ryo's face lightened up a lot, and his noteworthy smile returned. He was reaching for his cell phone to call Henry and Takato, when the two of them ran into the room.

Henry spotted Ryo, with Jeri and Richard, and ran over to them with his cummerbund in his hand and his bowtie loosely hanging around his neck. "I am so sorry, Ryo, but we couldn't find it anywhere."

Ryo's smile grew wider. "Look at what Richard is holding."

Out of breath, Henry and Takato looked down at Richard, and saw two small shiny rings on the light blue ring cushion.

"But how—where'd you find it?" Henry asked.

"It was in my pocket," Richard answered, and held up his prop, "and I put them on this when I got here."

"I thought you said you put them in _your_ pocket," Takato said, looking at Henry.

Henry took a minute to think. Then, it hit him. "Oh, that's right! I put them in his pocket after I noticed I had a hole in my pocket, while packing his clothes for Rika, last night. I guess I was so busy about getting ready for today, I forgot about it."

"Well, problem solved! Now come on, we have to make last minute confirmations." Takato headed for the room, where the reception was held.

"I have to go check up on Rika and the others." Jeri looked at Ryo, and straightened his tie. She smiled, and then walked off.

In the main hall, Kazu and a group of people seemed to take part in a large staring contest.

"Um," Kazu managed to get out as he blankly stared at the people before him. He pointed to the people. "How do you know Ryo and Rika?"

"We're fans," one answered.

"And, we're writers," another added.

Kazu glanced at Mako, and raised an eyebrow. They looked back at the horde people and shrugged. Still with confused looks, they managed to smile.

"Welcome. Shortly after the ceremony, the reception will be held in the next room. Hope you stay for that, and enjoy your night," Mako said.

The crowd of people started to walk in, all lead by Kenta and Jason, to their seats.

As time slowly crept to the wedding ceremony, the men stood next to the officiant heads cast toward the back doors where the bride would walk.

"It's only a matter of minutes, Ryo," Henry said, nudging Ryo.

"Yeah I know." Ryo ran his hand through his hair, as he tensed up again.

"No worries, man," Takato assured.

While they waited, a small band played Pachelbel's Canon in D, as a prelude. The room was filled with people. A photographer stood in the corner with her tripod and camera, waiting to capture every moment, for Ryo and Rika. Amber and Ashley came in from the side and took a seat in the front row, with Kazu, Kenta, Jason, Mako, and Suzie.

In the back, behind closed doors, Jeri, Alice, Richard, Ai, and Rika waited for the given time to come. Rika clutched her bouquet and looked restless.

"Rika, calm down." Jeri walked over to her and comforted her.

Ai turned around from peeking through the door, and said, "Get ready."

"It's just like rehearsal, Rika, just with…more people," Alice added, standing behind Jeri.

The doors opened, revealing a lot of people. Ryo, Takato and Henry stood with the officiant, facing the door. Jeri and Alice walked down the aisle, in time with the music, holding their respective bouquets. A few moments later, after looking at Ai and Rika, Richard stepped through the doors, holding out the ring cushion with the two rings placed on top. Shortly after, Ai walked out with her basket of petals, tossing out a few with each step.

Before Rika walked out, the music stopped and went immediately to the bridal march. It was her cue to walk out. She slowly walked down the aisle, looking down at her feet. As she approached the front, she looked up and saw Ryo, smiling. She smiled as she stopped. Rika handed Jeri her bouquet, as Henry kneeled down to retrieve the rings. He gave the bride's ring to Takato, and gave the other to Jeri, for her to hold. Richard and Ai went to sit down with the others as the music came to an end. The officiant smiled and stepped forward, as Rika and Ryo turned to face him.

"Good afternoon, or good evening, whatever you prefer. We are gathered here today to join this man, Ryo Akiyama, and this woman, Rika Nonaka, in bonds of holy matrimony. If any person can show just why they should not be joined, let them speak or hereafter forever hold their peace." The priest paused, and then glanced Ryo and Rika. He looked at Ryo. "Ryo, take Rika's hand into yours and repeat after me."

Ryo looked at Rika, as he reached for her hand.

"I, Ryo Akiyama, take Rika to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward…" the priest paused for Ryo.

Ryo recited, "I, Ryo Akiyama, take Rika to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward…"

The officiant continued. "For better, for worse…for richer, for poorer…in sickness and in health…to love and to cherish till death do us part."

Ryo once again recited, while looking into Rika's eyes. "For better, for worse…for richer, for poorer…in sickness and in health…to love and to cherish till death do us part."

The priest, then, turned to Rika. "Now, Rika. Take Ryo's right hand into yours and repeat after me. I, Rika Nonaka, take Ryo to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward…"

Rika took Ryo's right hand. "I, Rika Nonaka, take Ryo to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward…"

"For better, for worse…for richer, for poorer…in sickness and in health…to love and to cherish till death do us part." He looked at her and waited for her to continue.

She smiled. "For better, for worse…for richer, for poorer…in sickness and in health…to love and to cherish till death do us part."

The officiant nodded and continued. "May we have the bride's ring?"

Henry, without hesitation, handed Ryo the ring.

"Place the ring on Rika's fourth finger on her left hand."

Ryo did as told, as Rika let out a soft laugh.

"Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor her and keep her, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, keeping thee only unto her, so long as you both shall live?"

Ryo smiled, and enthused, "I do."

"Now, may we have the groom's ring, please?"

Jeri handed Rika the ring.

"Place the ring on Ryo's finger." Rika, also, did as told.

"Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keeping thee only unto him, so long as you both shall live?"

Rika stood there, with a distinct silence left for a few moments. Ryo's face faltered. Rika smirked and replied, "I do."

A sigh escaped from many of the people in the room. The priest chuckled.

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

At first, the tamers and their close friends stood up, and then almost everyone in the room followed and replied, "We do."

The priest gave a surprised look, and then muttered, "It was supposed to be Rika's father." He cleared his throat and spoke up again. "Before this company, Ryo and Rika have pledged their love with the taking of vows and the exchanging of rings." He took Ryo and Rika's hand and joined them together. "I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Rika moved closer to Ryo as he leaned in and kissed her. Everyone in the room cheered. Jeri was teary-eyed with joy. The newlyweds pulled away, and looked at the group, then back at each other.

"I'll love you, always and forever," Rika said.

"Same goes here," Ryo smiled.

Kazu stood up on his chair and yelled out, "The reception is held in the next room. Please go on, and head there."

The horde of people started to move out towards the reception room. The photographer brought her equipment over to the aisle as the room cleared. Ryo, Rika, Takato, and Jeri signed the marriage license, as the others grouped together for the pictures.

"Okay, bride and groom in the middle, then maid of honor and best man behind them. Next to them, I want the groomsman and the bridesmaid together. The flower girl and the ring bearer, up, front and center with the bride and groom. The ushers and greeters should stand behind the groomsman and bridesmaid. Last, but not least, friends and family members surrounding the group."

The group finally got into position, and took five to seven pictures. After the pictures were taken, Yamaki spoke to the photographer about the costs. Kazu, Kenta, and Jason walked out towards the reception room, as close friends congratulated the newlywed couple.

"I'm so happy for you, Rika!" Jeri exclaimed, embracing Rika into a hug.

"Couldn't have made it through without your help," Rika replied.

Jason ran back into the room. "Okay you guys, pair up! Groom with bride, best man with maid of honor, groomsman with bridesmaid, and ring bearer with flower girl. Line up in reverse order."

Amber, Ashley, Suzie, and Mako headed for the reception room as the participants lined up. The rest of the group walked down to the reception with their partners. Ai picked Richard up as they walked into the room filled with people. Up on a platform, Kazu held a microphone.

"Ai and Mako, the flower girl and the ring bearer through the doors," Kazu blared.

People started to crowd around the doors as Henry and Alice walked in.

"Alice and Henry, the bridesmaid and groomsman." Kazu pointed to each of them. Then, Takato and Jeri came. "Jeri and Takato, the maid of honor and best man."

The friends and guests cheered and clapped their hands. All applauding and cheering grew louder as Ryo and Rika finally entered the room.

"Ladies and gentleman! The bride and groom, Rika and Ryo Akiyama!" Kazu put the microphone down and clapped. After some of the noise died down, he picked the microphone up and said, "Ladies and gentleman, please clear the floor for the bride and groom, for the first dance. Amber will you do the honors?" Amber walked up on the stage, and smiled, as Kazu handed her the mike. She gladly took the microphone, and cleared her throat, as the back round music for "Whenever You Call" by Mariah Careystarted.

"Love wandered inside, stronger than you, stronger than I, and now that it has begun, we cannot turn back. We can only turn into one," Amber sang.

Ryo held out his hand, and Rika gladly took it into her own. They made their way to the middle of the room, where it was cleared for them to dance. Everyone else sat at the tables, watching this happy moment and listening to Amber sing. The photographer, quietly, walked around, taking pictures.

"I won't ever be too far away to feel you, and I won't hesitate at all, whenever you call. And, I'll always remember, the part of you so tender. I'll be the one to catch your fall, whenever you call," Amber continued and smiled, as her eyes gleamed in the light.

Richard looked at Ai, as he sat on her lap. "She's really good."

Ai simply nodded. "No doubt about that."

"Look at them dance," Jeri commented, watching Ryo and Rika.

"And I'm truly inspired, finding my soul, there in your eyes. And, you have opened my heart and lifted me inside by showing me yourself undisguised."

Ryo put his hands at Rika's waist as Rika put her arms around his neck. They swayed to the slow moving song.

"She's a great singer," Rika whispered.

"Yup," Ryo replied.

Rika rested her head on his shoulder, and smiled.

"I won't ever be too far away to feel you, and I won't hesitate at all, whenever you call. And, I'll always remember, the part of you so tender. I'll be the one to catch your fall, whenever you call. And I will breathe for you each day, comfort you through all the pain; gently kiss your fears away. You can turn to me and cry, always understand that I give you all I am inside." Amber sang with all her heart.

By this time, Henry and Alice were dancing with each other, since Amber was singing.

"Jeri, would you like to dance, for old time's sake?" Takato asked, getting up.

Jeri sighed and looked at Ashley. "Is that okay with you?"

Ashley nodded. "It's just one dance out of…a lot."

Jeri got up and walked with Takato, and started dancing. Near them, Richard was in Ai's arms, as she swayed to the music. Ashley sat at the table, with Kazu, Kenta, Jason, Mako, and Suzie.

"I won't ever be too far away to feel you, and I won't hesitate at all, whenever you call. And, I'll always remember, the part of you so tender. I'll be the one to catch your fall, whenever you call."

"This sure looks familiar," Kenta said, looking at the group of people, dancing.

"Without the Ryo and Rika detail, this sight reminds me of the dances in high school," Kazu noted.

"Those two and those two, danced at dances, in high school?" Jason asked, pointing to Henry, Alice, Takato, and Jeri.

"Yup," Mako answered.

"Interesting, huh?" Suzie asked.

"I won't ever be too far away to feel you, and I won't hesitate at all, whenever you call."

Ryo kissed Rika. Rika, smiled again, turning her head. She spotted Jeri and Takato.

'Just like old times,' Rika thought.

"I won't ever be too far away to feel you, and I won't hesitate at all, whenever you call. And, I'll always remember, the part of you so tender. I'll be the one to catch your fall, whenever you call." The song ended, and Amber took a bow, as people applauded, both for her, and the newlywed couple.

Rika, Ryo, and Amber made their way back to their big table. On their way back, a more upbeat song played.

"So what's it like being married?" Kenta asked.

"No big difference." Rika laughed.

"Yeah, I know. Why do you ask?" Ryo asked.

"No reason."

"Kenta is just fantasizing about his girl and his never-going-to-happen wedding," Kazu said, as he laughed.

"Hey, shut up. It's not like you're getting girl any time soon either," Kenta retorted.

"I don't understand how you two can be business partners," Amber commented.

"Yeah, I know. Fighting and bickering everyday," Alice added.

Kazu and Kenta turned away from each other and crossed their arms. The digimon, showed up, shortly after.

"Hey Henry. Can we go boogie?" Terriermon asked.

"Um, sure," Henry answered, glancing at the crowd, then back at Terriermon.

"Cool!" Terriermon climbed up on Guilmon's head and pointed towards the group of people, dancing. "Let's go."

Takato laughed. "Knock yourselves out!"

The rest of the digimon followed suit, as the others were engaged in a conversation. Minutes later, the digimon came back to the table. Guilmon sniffed the air.

"I smell food," Guilmon said. The digmon started to look around, and finally saw food, being set out on the tables in the back.

"Not yet, you guys," said Henry.

"Aw, but I'm hungry," Guardromon said.

"One more song, and we'll start serving," Takato assured.

"Good, cause I was getting a little hungry, too," Jason commented, leaning back in his chair to stretch.

As the digimon watched the stack of plates being put on the table, a slow song started; "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson.

Takato looked at Ashley, and held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to," Ashley replied, taking his hand. The two walked out to the floor, where a few couples were already dancing.

"How about you? You up for a little dancing?" Henry asked, looking at Amber.

"Sure," Amber replied, getting up. "Are you two coming?" She looked at Ryo and Rika.

"Oh, no. We're fine," Ryo and Rika answered, simultaneously.

"Alright." Amber and Henry joined everyone else on the dance floor.

"Where'd Suzie and Mako go?" Rika asked.

"They went out, that way, I think," Richard replied, pointing out the exit.

"Hmm, doing what?" Ryo asked.

"Who knows?" Ai answered, looking the way Richard pointed. Masahiko ran in, and spotted Ai. He ran over to her. "Hey, why are you late?"

"I got outta work late."

Ai nodded and said, "I see."

Masahiko took a look around the place and turned back to Ai.

"You want to…dance?" he managed to stutter out. Ai nodded. She took his hand walked out to the floor.

Renamon appeared before Ryo and Rika. "Congrats to the both of you."

"Thanks Renamon. You want to join us?" Rika asked.

"No, it's okay," Renamon answered.

"This is a pretty song," Ashley whispered.

"Mm-hmm," Takato was all he could manage out, as he looked into Ashley's eyes, and smiled.

"How'd I do when I was singing up there?" Amber asked; her chin rested on his shoulder.

"You did great." Amber heard the sound of a smile in his voice.

Ryo and Rika sat at the empty table. They spotted Jeri and Jason, dancing. Then, they found Takato and Ashley, Henry and Amber, and Ai and Masahiko; they even saw all the digimon, having a great time with Richard, but still no sign of Mako or Suzie.

"Do you think they went back?" Rika asked.

"Nah, I don't think they would leave Ai behind," Ryo replied.

"Congratulations, you two," Yamaki said, walking over to the two of them, with Riley.

"And a great big thanks to you, for paying for everything. The bill must have been pretty hefty," Ryo said.

"Oh, I have my ways," Yamaki replied, smirking. "Well, I was on my way to taking Riley outside, for a little fresh air. I'll see you two later."

"Okay," Rika said.

Kazu got up on stage. "Okay, we're now serving dinner. Bride and groom, and participants are served first."

Ryo and Rika walked up and helped themselves to the assortment of foods, served. The rest soon followed.

Elsewhere, Mako and Suzie sat on a stoops marvelling at the sunset.

"I'm glad they're together," Mako said.

"Now are you saying that because we can go back to being angels, or are you saying that for their happiness?" Suzie asked, smiling.

"Both, actually," Mako replied, facing Suzie and smiling. He looked back up to the sky again, watching the sunset. "You know, this is probably the last time we'll see a sunset as beautiful as this."

"I know."

"We haven't really worked together till now. Did you know that?" Mako asked.

Suzie thought for a second. "I think you're right." She smiled. "We make a good team, and it's been a long while since you and your sister fought."

"Yeah…" Mako said. He looked at Suzie.

His head slowly leaned in, until they could feel each other's breaths. Suzie slowly backed away, shutting her eyes.

"Maybe we should head back inside," Suzie suggested, getting up.

Mako nodded, a little disappointed at what didn't happen.

Back at the wedding after everyone had a chance to get food, Ashley nudged Takato in the ribs.

"Aren't you going to do the toast?" Ashley asked.

"Oh yeah!" Takato answered. He got up and held his glass, in his hand. He cleared his throat. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Uhh, I'm Takato Matsuki, friend of Ryo and Rika. I would first like to thank all of you for coming out tonight, to celebrate this day. I would also like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Yamaki for paying for the event. Without you, this evening wouldn't be possible." Takato paused and looked at Rika and Ryo. "It's funny how these two met, because they were always at each other's necks, over simple things. They met at a digimon tournament and they faced each other at the final round. One of them lost, of course. Um…and then they met again in the Digital World…and yeah. They always seem to meet each other coincidentally. We've traveled to the Digital World many times, and these two, in particular, always had something to say to the other. A couple can't be much more alike than these two, especially with what has gone on in the past. But you know, as Sophocles said, 'One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love,' and that definitely holds true for these two." Takato paused again, glanced down at Ryo and Rika again, and smiled. "So I would like to protose—I mean propose a toast, to the newlyweds." Blushing, Takato raised his cup in the air. "Cheers."

Everyone in the room did the same. Takato sat back down, a little embarrassed at his mistake.

"It's okay, you did good," Ashley assured, rubbing his back.

"Nice words," Ryo commented, giving him a thumbs-up.

"You'll have to give us a copy sometime, for our memory book," Rika added.

"Will do," Takato answered.

Few minutes later, a couple of people rolled out a cart with the three-layer wedding cake. Ryo and Rika walked over to the cart and made the first cut. Rika took it and placed it on a plate. Ryo took some of the frosting and stuck it on Rika's nose. Rika laughed, and did the same to Ryo.

"This is getting too good to be true," Jeri commented, watching the two.

"I know." Alice stood up. "Come on. Let's help hand out the cake."

Richard got out of his chair and ran over to the cart to help pass out the cake. Guilmon and Terriermon shared a piece of cake.

"I can't believe this plan actually worked!" Terriermon blurted out. Moments later, he noticed what he had just said. "Oops." Henry and Alice, as well as the rest of the group looked at Terriermon, then to Ryo and Rika, afraid of what they might say.

"What plan?" Rika asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"To get you two together," Terriermon said. Henry and Alice shot a menacing look at Terriermon.

'Oh great, I'm good as dead,' Henry thought.

"Is this true?" Ryo asked.

Henry and Alice pointed to Richard. "It was all his idea!"

Rika looked at Richard. "Is this true?" Richard nodded. "You know, I would expect something like this from Jeri, but from you—" Rika smiled and embraced him into a hug, the opposite of what the others thought. Everyone else sighed of relief, and the reception went on.

Few hours later, Rika and Ryo stepped out through the doors, onto the lighted sidewalk, both in a shirt and shorts. A lot of people surrounded them. Jeri ran over to her and handed her the bouquet, and gave Ryo the garter (which _he_ was supposed to slip off, but OH WELL!). The two of them turned around and threw it over their shoulders. Many people tried to grab it, but in the end, Guilmon had the garter hanging off one of his ears and the bouquet landed on MarineAngemon.

The wedding bells rang and Ryo and Rika kissed once again for the whole world to see. They laughed, and stepped into the town car that was filled with their necessities for their honeymoon. Rika stuck her head out the window.

"Thanks, you guys!" Rika yelled out, as Ryo started the getaway car.

Everyone waved 'farewell' and Ryo and Rika did the same. All that the people could see of the car was the back window of the car. Written in big, white letters were "Just married…to the greatest woman I've met…"

* * *

DF103: DONE! HALLELUJAH! 

immature DF103: NOOOOOOO!

lovesick DF103: Like, get over it…

morbid/dead DF103: I know. It's no big deal…remember? Se-quel…

boring DF103: --…z…Z…z…Z…

DF103: Now, I have to worry about SCHOOL! I start Mon…and I'm not ready to go back! looks for bottle of gel ACK! WHERE IS IT? Hm…forgets gel and looks for black nail polish Well, here are the credits!

Credits 

Produced, Written, and all the other stuff by: DigiFreak103

© Copyright 2003 By "DF103 & the 4 Idiots" co.

Thanks to: Mostly for the service to put up my fics… - -;; (What! I'm trying to show appreciation!)

Major Thanks to: Angel13 for clothes coordination and ideas, kori hime for some clothes coordination and song idea, RukiMakino for some ideas, DigiqueenTMIM for use of character, song ideas, and clothes coordination, and BIG thanks to HenryLovr07 for adding and revising some parts of the last half of this fic, as well as the use of her character, song ideas, and clothes coordination…

And of course, readers like you…thanks to the reviewers of Never Too Far From Home: con2020tran, Reiusune, Anime Master ZERO, Akino Matoumiken, DigiQueen-Sinceramon, silentobserver, half-demon, Anjel bluez, Rika1332, Dark Shadow, DigiQueenTMIM, Demon-Cat, Harsh Ice Queen, neko, crystal-digiqueen, AngelK, Sam, Izumi-Chan, Tiger Wolf, Junny, flufflywitch, Flameraven, Ryoko Lover 4-ever, Akino Ame, Lady Ice, nobody, DarkShadow9247, Little Birdie, Silverchan, Henrylovr07, starzzzzzzzz, millie, JRDW

…And the Reviewers of Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika: RukiMakino, Junny, digifreaks, Rika1332, Dark Shadow, Anime Master ZERO, Dark Shadow9247, Little Birdie, Akino Ame, DigiqueenTMIM, Akino Matoumiken, DigiQueen-Sinceramon, KuTiExAzNxAnGeL, Shiroi Taiyou, Nightshade, crystal-digiqueen, Angel13, rikiXD, Ladies Yin Yang, Reiusune, HenryLovr07, Ladychichi, Destiny'sFate, con2020tran, Jedi Takato, PinkShuntumon, rike+ryo 4eva, Sam, Ryoko Lover 4-ever, Alexis, Amethyst Blizzard, KristiexxNguyen, Sally, miaka, JRDW, taKAriryUKiruLEz, Tache, Pisces Panda, SS2 Megami-sama, and any other reviewers who happen to review after I post this! Sorry if I missed anyone…long list o people…

Disclaimers: First and foremost, I do not own Digimon, Amber Kamisaka, Ashley Ojuka, American Idol, Ryuki writers, and Ryuki fans.

Claimers: Richard, Melanie, and Jason are mine…

This fanfic has been created by DigiFreak103 (excluding characters of Digimon and the characters of other authors) 2002-2003

No person, digimon, or any inanimate object has been harmed, threatened, or mutilated in the making of Never Too Far From Home and Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika (except for Ryo's dented apartment door, and Rika's random attacks upon a few people coughKazucough but those are normal occurrences, and I take no responsibility). The people and digimon in these two fics have done their own stunts and DigiFreak103 take no responsibility in their injuries for taking the risk of not having a stunt double (Yes, which means, Takato was hit with the knife).

DF103: Once again, I want to thank all the readers for reading this fic, as well as the precursor for this. Hope to see you all when the sequel comes out! L8terZ! This is DigiFreak103 and the four Idiots, with Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo and Rika. Over and out!


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